


Sharp Minds and Sharp Swords

by swaggitygrandma



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ana and Fareeha are Sisters, Background Relationships, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Kidnapping, Lesbian Sex, Loss of Virginity, Pirates, Young Ana Amari
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 04:29:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 40,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19418506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swaggitygrandma/pseuds/swaggitygrandma
Summary: Captain Ana Amari, sailor of the seven seas and in charge of the grandiose ship, Poseidon's Daughter. With her motley crew of women, she sets out to kidnap Princess Angela Ziegler, wife of notorious Japanese mafia member Genji Shimada. But when Ana is successful, she finds out she gets more than what she bargained for.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Been working on way way more AUs, but this by far is the one I've put on the top of my list. I plan to flesh this story out fully, adding lots of fluff and SMUT. Oh, and there will be later sex scenes, don't you worry. But for now, enjoy this first chapter.

“This is Japan?” a large Russian woman asked as Poseidon’s Daughter was steered into the harbour of a large port, full of other similarly sized ships all tied up. Captain Ana Amari inhaled, a smile growing onto her face as she did so. She clamped her hand onto her crew member’s shoulder, squaring her own shoulders.

“This is Japan,” the caramel-skinned woman confirmed, flicking her glossy black hair back as her other crew members gathered around the side of the ship, eagerly wanting to see the picturesque mountains and rivers of Japan they had all heard about.

“Stinks like fish!” an 11-year-old Korean girl whined, stamping her feet up and down as she pinched her nose comically. An older girl (though not by much), darker and with Latino features, scoffed slightly. “It’s a harbour, of course it’s going to stink of fish, estúpida.”

The young girl whined again and frowned. “Stop picking on me! Why do you always pick on me?”

“I wouldn’t have to if you weren’t so stupid.”

The Captain turned around, an almost too pleasant smile on her face, her long lush red velvet coat swishing as she did so. The two fell silent and Ana turned back, before turning to Zarya.

“Don’t let them run amok.”

“Yes, Captain.”

The Egyptian laughed wholeheartedly for no apparent reason, before turning to the rest of her crew;

An American girl Ana had picked up from an unfortunate gang of lost souls. Her experience with working with others made her a valuable asset to the team. Plus, she was their best shot.

A rather young but solemn French woman who had only agreed to come on this journey as a medic and not to be involved with the fighting. She was also apparently smitten with the captain, but made the excuse of joining to run away from her husband.

A lanky Irish woman Ana was somewhat friends with who’d help out with loading the cannons and keeping the weapons in shape.

A chipper British girl who was sometimes the lookout and would steer the boat.

And Zarya, supposedly the strongest woman in the whole of Russia, who’d help with the fighting, the carrying, the pillaging, pretty much anything. 

Plus their cartographer, Olivia, and Hana, the youngest, who’d make repairs to the ship and crawl into all the small spaces. 

A ragtag team they were.

“You know what we’re doing tonight, yes?” the Captain’s voice rang out clearly as she started to walk up and down the deck, folding her arms behind her back. 

Her leather boots clicked every time she walked, and she held an aura of prosperity around her. Most would have been intimidated, but her crew knew her as a kind soul. Determined and sometimes vicious in battle, but never for no reason. That wasn’t to say she showed mercy on her enemies though.

“Getting drunk and fucking bitches?” Ashe called out, encouraging a snicker from Lena, who promptly shut up when Ana glared at them.

“Ashe,” Ana warned.

“Oh. Just fucking bitches then?” Another giggle, this time from Hana.

“Idiots, all of you,” the Captain sighed as she buried her face into golden-ringed hands. “The plan. Did you already forget?” She returned to her signature folded arms over chest position, her head tilted with a half smile on her face.

“The princess,” Zarya answered after everyone’s confused silence of hopefully them trying to figure out what Ana was talking about. “We will get money from the prince if we kidnap the princess and hold her ransom.”

Ana gave a pleased smile. She patted her shoulder and turned back to her crew. “Glad to see someone listening. We’re doing it tonight, you know. And none of you are prepared whatsoever.”

“Hey hey, now hold on a minute!” the white haired American protested, raising her hand up as if to silence the already silent crew. Americans. “Why haven’t we talked about this shit? When are we doing this? How rich is she? What if they never deliver a ransom? You gonna chuck her overboard?”

Ana let out a laugh, a surprised laugh, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “We have talked about this. Just none of you pay attention. Too busy drinking straight from the rum barrel in the storage room, eh?” the Egyptian laughed, pinching Ashe’s cheek. “I’m only joking. Zarya, Oliva and I are going to go in the night to get her. We’ve planned our way in, and her husband’s away on some sort of business trip. It’s likely he won’t get the news until a few days away.”

“He’s definitely cheating on her,” Moira quipped for the first time in three hours. They all turned to her. “I mean, even if he did have business overseas, he’d have taken his wife. Maybe she’s not the prettiest thing. And Genji Shimada is a bit of a playboy.”

“A bit like you, Captain!” Lena cheerfully chirped.

Ana’s jaw dropped. She stared at Moira with surprise, before she started to cackle, clapping her hands together. “Him!” was all she said, slapping her knee and bending over slightly, struggling to capture her breath. She got up again and coughed into her fist, trying to stop any more laughter.

She held her hand out in a straight line above her head, before moving it down to Olivia’s height, which was just mid-torso for Ana. “The short one you’re talking about? Shorter than me?”

“You’re pretty tall, Cap,” Lena pointed out, but Moira more or less shrugged.

“Yes, him. He might be short, but he’s incredibly wealthy. Has a fleet of ships, owns more than a couple of pirate crews around here,” the Irishwoman replied, more focused on her nails than the conversation. “If he cares enough about his wife, he’ll most likely hunt us all down. Beat us slowly and painfully, then skin us alive. That’s what he did to the last pirates that messed with one of his lovers. Maybe not his wife, but a secret lover.”

Ana’s brows raised high, and a smirk grew on her face. She loved a good challenge.

“I’m looking forward to taking his wife then.”

\----

“Your husband has given us news that he is staying in Switzerland for around a month to discuss issues with your father. He gives a note about not interrupting him with, ‘frivolous unimportant messages’, Your Highness” the sharply dressed butler announced without a hint of emotion in his voice. He was Japanese. As was the clothes he was wearing. As was the money he was being paid.

As was everything that Angela Ziegler owned. Genji had told her that she didn’t needy any of her “shoddy peasant clothing”, that they’d buy her “clothing more suitable for someone of her status.” It seemed wealth was all he valued. And beauty. A trophy wife.

Angela’s eyes moved from the speck on the window and onto the man standing before her. “Oh. Okay,” she tried not to sound too disheartened. They’d only married a few months ago, but it seemed he was always away from home. “I, umm…” Angela tried to speak up. Having authority over people was new to Angela. She usually kept to herself in Switzerland.

But it seemed Japan was different. After being shipped here, she was confined to the walls of a mansion. Not that the mansion was bad, but she preferred a cosy cottage with her husband instead. Or maybe just herself.

“You may leave,” she ordered weakly, but he soon turned and walked away, the Swiss woman sighing in relief as she avoided another confrontation. She smoothed down her dress and blinked, looking back to the window. A sunny day, but it brought no happiness. The sky was blue, and so was she. As always. She wondered if Genji was thinking about her. She thought of him a lot. She was his wife after all.

Another sigh escaped her lips as she rested her chin in her hand. Who was she to lie to herself? Angela didn’t mean much to him. She was only a trophy wife. Someone to flaunt at parties, to have as arm candy. Other than that, Angela was nothing to him. A sad sorry little thing that was too meek to even speak up about her moving here.

Not like she could do much about it. A wife was her husband’s property, or so Genji would say. And the worst thing? Angela was ridiculously lonely. Ever since she had accepted Genji’s marriage proposal, she was immediately shipped off to Japan, leaving her parents and home and friends all behind. Like her husband cared. He only married her to inherit the title of King of Switzerland, as her father was to retire soon.

After all, Genji was but a measly prince. If married to royalty, he could earn much more, and control many more of the overseas trading management. Including illegal pirating.

Pirates disgusted her. People with such a blatant disregard for the law, who stole and murdered and fought on sea they weren’t even allowed on. Angela shuddered. She was glad she’d never had to come into contact with one of them.

\----

A grin on Ana’s face as she strode down the marketplace, her long coat swishing as she took a step. People made way for her, not out of fear, but out of respect. Here was a woman that could easily break a grown man’s nose whilst making dinner plans with his wife.

But the most important thing was that she showed respect to you if you did the same to her. She wasn’t about to kiss the ass of anyone with higher authority than her.

Her eyes lit up as she moved into a slow jog towards the stall she was looking for. A short man with a braided beard stood on a stool whilst his taller daughter stood in the back. Ana lifted her hand up and waved as she walked, and the short man noticed her, audibly groaning as she headed towards them.

“You again? Don’t you get tired of coming here and hassling me for a bargain?” Torbjorn grumbled, but anyone could see he was pleased to see her again. His daughter, Brigitte, flushed a bright pink and looked away. ‘Another smitten young girl,’ Ana thought as she flashed a confident smile her way.

“How can you say that about your number one customer?”

“You can’t be the number one customer if you never pay full price!” he grunted, but he sighed, causing a smile to arise from Ana. “What are you here for?”

Ana slammed her hands down on the wood, causing both of the merchants to jump. “Glad you asked! I need your strongest alcohol. Something really really strong. As in, could knock out Zarya. Not that I’ll knock out Zarya with it,” she chuckled.

Torbjorn thought for a while, before turning to Brigitte and saying something in Swedish. She replied back with a shrug of her shoulders and turned to face Ana. “Do you mean smelling alcohol or drinking alcohol, ma’am?”

Ana’s ringed fingers tapped the desk as she thought about which one was the most potent. Maybe extremely strong vodka. Zarya probably knew some. She’d ask later.

“Uh…drinking alcohol. Maybe vodka,” Ana mused, tapping her chin as she thought. “Strong vodka. Preferably Russian.” Torbjorn muttered a few words about sending her crew to an early grave with all the alcohol she bought, but he waved his hand and Brigitte nodded.

She knelt, and pulled out a large crate, lifting it up onto the table. She pried the lid open with a crack, and Ana marvelled at her strength. She’d have had to use her sword to pry it open instead. Dust billowed from the insides and Brigitte fanned it all away, taking out a large clear glass bottle labelled in blue ink. She shook the bottle, then popped off the cork.

Holding it out to Ana, she smiled. “How’s that?” Brigitte asked as Ana sniffed the bottle cautiously. 

The pirate choked, and staggered back, coughing into her hand. Tears emerged from her eyes as she fanned the scent away from here. “You’re gonna make me faint! Warn me before you do that!” Ana coughed but still smiling. “How much?”

“Five shillings, and don’t even try to talk your way out of this one,” Torbjorn butted in, folding his arms and frowning. Her face dropped. Ana’s wallet suddenly felt considerably light. She laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head. She wasn’t made of money.

“Right, umm, what about three shillings and a kiss on your daughter’s cheek?”

Brigitte blushed bright red and covered her face whilst Torbjorn blew his fuse. “How will that benefit me?! All you do is flatter young women into your bed and you will do no such thing with my daughter!”

The young girl’s embarrassment made her tug her father’s sleeve. “Papa, that’s rude!”

“All pirates are rude people! And to think you wanted to become one!”

“Papa, stop, it’s embarrassing!” the young girl whined, covering her face whilst the captain chuckled.

Ana cleared her throat, before smiling a little. “You wanted to become a pirate? Well I’ll tell you, it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. It requires skills and determination.” She gave a cocky grin, then looked over at the girl and winked, which made Brigitte’s poor heart flutter. “Not to mention my devilishly good looks.”

The Swedish girl tittered and blushed, whilst Torbjorn grumbled again. “You can woo other women, but keep your wiles away from my daughter! She’s too young for all of this.”

“Papa, I’m not a little girl anymore! I’m 17!”

“Too young to even be working as an alcohol merchant!”

Ana watched on fondly as the two began to bicker back and forth, before Torbjorn finally shushed her. “So what am I paying again?” she teased, a grin growing on her face.

“Five shillings!” he grumbled back.

Her grin grew smug, and she tapped her nails on the wood, tilting her head. “Come on, a favour? It’s not to get me drunk, I swear, I know how much you hate these ‘dirty lowlife pirates’,” Ana chuckled, running her fingers through her hair and leaning on the table. “Come on. Three shillings.”

Torbjorn laughed, almost mockingly, and Ana visibly drooped. “What do you think this is, a bar? Get outta here!” he yelled, but he quieted when Ana frowned a little and lowered her head.

“There’s no chance you could go lower…?” she asked, her eyes averting his look as she stared at her boots awkwardly. “But it’s fine if you can’t…”

Torbjorn paused, weighing down his options. Sure, he could give it to her, but when had she ever paid full price? He felt guilty then. Sure, Ana was a pirate (a cheapskate one at that), but she had a heart of gold and cared so much about the welfare of her crew. Perhaps he was a little too hard on her.

“Four shillings,” he murmured quietly.

“You got yourself a deal!” she immediately brightened up, slamming a pouch of coins onto the table and picking up the bottle, but not before kissing Brigitte’s hand. “Thank you, kind sir, and thank you, ma’am. You’ve no idea how important this is.”

Brigitte pulled her hand back shyly as Torbjorn angrily yelled in the background. “I fail to see how alcohol is important!” but he calmed down slightly, “now get lost! I don’t want people around here to think that we serve you pirates.”

Ana chuckled and brushed her hair to the side, before winking at Brigitte, holding the bottle to her chest with a smile on her face. “As much as I’d love to stay and talk to you, I’m afraid I must be going. I’ve got women to romance and money to take,” she smiled, bowing and placing another kiss on Brigitte’s hand. 

That was how you wooed women; you flattered them and made it seem as if you were in love. Then you stole their money and left them. It was better not to pursue a relationship with them. Things got messy, especially as a pirate. You had your crew to worry about first instead of a lover. And that was why Ana preferred staying single. No messy love life for her, thank you very much.

She headed off rather quickly, the young Swedish girl watching her as she boarded a boat that was presumably hers, before turning to her father. “Why can’t I become a pirate, papa? It makes a hell of a lot of money.”

There was more angry yelling as her father stormed off, and she was left watching the sunset, painting the sky in delicious hues of pinks and oranges.

She wondered what she would do with that bottle.


	2. Run Run Run As Fast As You Can

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelie and Lena have sex. Ana Amari sets up a plan. Ashe and Moira hate each other.

Teeth grazed against Lena’s lips as Amelie slipped her wet tongue into her mouth. She moaned, almost whined, a finger slipping into Lena’s dripping wet pussy and caressed her walls before another was added. A light gasp from the younger woman, whose thighs quivered and moved to get a better feeling of the digits of her lover inside of her.

Amelie thumbed the oversensitive clit, her two fingers sumberging and emerging with a steady pattern. The body underneath hers tensed up, shivering at the over simulation. There was a slight rise in tempo, increased pressure on her before Lena could feel herself about to come undone. She tried squeezing her walls shut, wanting to savour the orgasm, whining into Amelie as she dug her nails into scalp skin. Her body shook again and she let out a loud gasp before- “Amelie, Amelie, I’m coming, I’m−!”

BANG!!

The door burst open with the enthusiasm of an oblivious ten year old child. Ana stood proudly in the doorway, her hands on her hips and every bit the pirate captain she was. “Amelie! Amelie, where are yo−oh my goodness, what are you doing in Lena’s bed?” she shouted as the two women hurried to cover themselves up under the blanket, eliciting a shriek from both Lena and Amelie.

“Sors ou je te tue!” Amelie screamed back with her face all scarlet, diving under the blanket once again. Embarrassed, Ana shielded her eyes and turned around, trying to erase the image of an almost orgasming Lena from her mind. She heard the scuffling of clothes behind her and felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Lena with disheveled hair standing in front of her. Ana sincerely hoped that the hand that just tapped her shoulder didn’t have any of Amelie’s… fluids on it.

“Yes, Captain?” the young Brit asked as Ana tried to hide the grossed-out look on her face. ‘Who has sex at this time of day?? It’s the evening, you should be doing chores, manning the ship, or something productive! And did you even wash your hands??’ Ana hissed inside of her head, but she managed to give a smile.

“Oh, uh, I wanted to remind you there’s a meeting in an hour. But you seemed pretty… preoccupied already. Just don’t forget to come, okay?” Ana said through gritted teeth, still forcing out a smile, before quickly leaving and slamming the door shut behind her.

Ana looked up.

An orange haze casted over the moving sea, reflecting off every wave. Half of a glowing, radiant light loomed on the water's horizon. A warm sensation was splashed onto her face from the beaming rays of the sun. A calmness flew by with the wind making her heart beat rhythmically, calmly. At times like this, she suddenly felt glad. Glad to have met such wonderful people, and to have been on such a voyage to have given her so many experiences. 

And one more experience was coming, one that would, tonight, change her life in ways she did not know possible.

\----

“Suck your mother’s vagina!” an American voice screeched across the table the crew were situated around, accusingly pointing her finger at the Irish woman who smugly dealt her hand of cards with ease. “You dirty cheat, I know you saw!”

“You have no evidence,” Moira shrugged, leaning back in her seat and covering her smirk with her hand, “and I didn’t, so I won fair and square.”

“Shut your rum-drinking mouth or I’ll tear that tongue out!” Ashe stood rather quickly and angrily, but the first mate was pulled back to her seat by the captain next to her.

“Shut up, Ashe,” she murmured, before neatly placing her deck on the table, looking over at Olivia and nodding, the latter slamming a piece of scroll onto the table, knocking the cards away.

“The fuck?” Ashe spat out, but groaned and quieted as Ana poked her in the ribs.

The paper had delicate pencil markings that mapped out what seemed to be a diagram of a large plot of land, including what seemed to be a tall building next to a tree.

“The fuck?” Ashe repeated as Ana stood, the crew going silent and looking up at her. She cleared her throat and smiled slightly, the same knee-shaking, award-winning smile.

“Alright, so tonight is the night. I’ve mapped out a full plan of what we’re going to do,” Ana took the same confident and assertive tone she always used, her voice echoing back to her in the small room. She looked up at Zarya and over at Olivia, tilting her head slightly. “You both are coming with me.”

Ashe stood up and slammed her fists on the table. “Why am I not going? I want to go! Why does the kid get to go?” she yelled once again, glaring rather menacingly at a snickering Olivia.

“Because,” Ana murmured, pushing Ashe back down to her seat, “Olivia’s a lot more quiet and secretive than you are. You’d end up shouting something stupid.”

“Captain’s got a point,” Moira smirked into her hand as she leaned further back into her chair.

“Shut the fuck up, daft redheaded cow,” Ashe retorted, but with a gesture of Ana’s hand, the two fell silent, but it didn’t stop them from glaring daggers at each other.

Lena raised her hand, and with another wave of Ana’s hand, she was given permission to speak. “If you don’t mind me asking, Captain, how are you going to get in?” she asked chipperly, snuggling closer to the dark haired Frenchwoman, who was currently in the middle of raking her fingers through Lena’s short scruffy hair.

“Simple,” the captain responded, pointing at the drawing of the tree, “we climb this all the way to the lowest branch. Unfortunately, the lowest branch is above the princess’ bedroom, so we’re going to use rope to lower each one of us down. Then, we’ll proceed to knock her out.”

Amelie’s head snapped in the direction of the pirate. “You’re going to punch her?!”

Ana wheezed, doubling over in a fit whilst Zarya cleared her throat and spoke in her stead. “She is going to knock her out with alcohol,” she stated in her heavily-accented voice, “not hurt her. Russian vodka is very strong. But I can take it,” she said, with a hint of what seemed like pride.

“Yes, that’s all well and fantastic,” Moira interrupted, tapping her long nails on the wood table, “but what will we do while you’re gone?”

“Well you can start by unanchoring the ship,” Ana replied smoothly, adding, “then you can stay awake until we’re back. Once we’re on board the ship, I want you to set sail immediately.” She looked over at Lena for the last few words, who smiled eagerly and saluted, before Moira cleared her throat again.

“Set sail where?” she asked, a curious tilt of her head as Moira watched Ana pull a compass out from her breast pocket, watching her with slight curiosity.

Ana studied it. They were currently in the Far East, a small group of islands completely secluded from the rest of the world. Where would they go?

“Wherever the wind takes us,” she murmured, a smile growing on her face.

Anywhere? Was that even part of the plan? Ana didn’t know, and frankly, she didn’t really care. Anywhere was a good a place as any, and with her luck, she might be able to at least find somewhere they could stay, perhaps head to somewhere west, perhaps Europe. She heard Italy was wonderful this time of year.

\----

In the dead of the night, three figures were standing outside a tall black gate. It was a surprise how nobody had spotted them yet, they were the most suspicious looking people anyone could have seen. The fact that one of them was carrying rope was a factor in their suspiciousness too.

Olivia scaled the gate with precision, landing on the other side with a silent crouch. Looking up, she beckoned both Zarya and Ana to join her, but Ana grimaced slightly. “I don’t know how to climb that!” she hissed, trying to keep their voice low from any guards who might be scouting the area.

“It’s easy, just hold onto the bars, hoist yourself up and jump over the spikes!” Olivia hissed back, glancing to her left at the sound of two men speaking in Japanese, the dull glow of a lamp meaning that guards were around.

Jacket trailing behind her, Ana sighed, before gripping the bars and climbing up as hard as she could. As she reached the top, she knelt, then leapt.

And then immediately crashed back into the fence with a loud rattling sound. Her coat had caught onto one of the spikes, and she was sort of… hanging there awkwardly. Olivia tried to hold back a snicker but she couldn’t, and had ended up silently laughing at the woman in front of her.

“Are you not going to help?” Ana whispered urgently, Zarya awkwardly watching the situation from behind. She tried shaking the fence, but it had only made more noise, and both had yelled at her for attracting more attention to themselves.

“Just leave the jacket behind!” Olivia reasoned, but Ana gave her a dumbfounded look.

“I’m keeping this jacket, I’ve had it for five years, I’m not going to just leave it behind!”

And then Olivia pulled her down.

Ana fell to the ground with a thud, and then went very still. “Bitch,” she murmured quietly, before getting up, her chin scraped. “Bitch,” she said again, before turning around at the sound of the men coming louder and louder. Glancing back at Zarya, she reached through the gaps in the bars and took the rope from her hands.

“You’re going to get caught!” Ana hurriedly whispered to Zarya, who was holding onto the bars with determination. She was strangely silent, until…

The Russian woman bent the bars to create a large hole, quickly climbing through it calmly. Olivia watched with mild interest whilst Ana’s mouth was half open. “You can do that? Why didn’t you do that before?” she questioned irritated as all three of them ran towards the back of the building.

“It would have been embarrassing if I said I could do it and I couldn’t,” Zarya calmly explained, as if that was a good enough excuse.

Eventually they came across the tree that was drawn on the map courtesy of Olivia’s unreadable squiggles. Ana went first with little difficulty, as Zarya helped her up. The tree was rather tall indeed. Then Olivia, yet again scrambling like a little monkey, hoisting herself up onto the branch. Finally Zarya, who stopped midway to look into the princess’ bedroom, noting it was empty.

Ana securely tied the rope to the branch, before she shimmied down it, then swung into the bedroom, quickly followed by Olivia and Zarya. The captain paused, before shushing the other two, gesturing for them to listen. In the room next door, the sounds of rushing water could be heard. “She’s bathing. Wait until she comes out,” Ana commanded, silently beckoning the Russian woman closer.

“You have the bottle, right?”

Zarya nodded and produced the same glass bottle from inside of her coat, opening it with ease. “We need to douse something in this. Do you have a handkerchief?” she asked as Ana turned out her pockets.

“No, I don−Olivia what the fuck are you doing?” Ana asked rather accusingly as the former immediately backed away from a drawer she was snooping through.

The accused lifted her hand up, holding a handkerchief in it, looking rather suspicious. Very very suspicious. “I found one,” she said guiltily, and Ana raised her brows slightly, but she took it from her nonetheless.

She prayed that wasn’t from a panty drawer.

The water sounds from the room next door had stopped, and all three looked up in panic. Shit. Zarya had doused the material in the vodka, just as the door opened and Angela stepped into her bedroom.

Time seemed to have stopped as Zarya got up behind Angela and pressed the cloth to her mouth. 

Angela’s pupils constricted as she tried desperately to pull away, clawing and trying to free herself. Muffled shouting and screaming  
before  
silence  
once  
again.

Zarya hoisted the unconscious blonde onto her shoulder, before they all headed out of the window, not bothering with the rope this time, landing on the floor rather ungracefully with thuds.

A shout in Japanese, and several footsteps headed towards them, the three (well, the four), scrambled to their feet and dashed as fast as they could. Running as quickly as their legs could carry them, the pirates bolted down the pathway like an Olympic champion at the start gun; quickening their pace to an all out sprint.

Behind them, the gunshots cracked into the air as loud as thunder but without the power of a storm. In comparison they were tinny and small, coming from one direction only, but just as dangerous, for one slip and they’d all be dead.

The rusted black gate was just in reach, and they darted through one by one, but Olivia’s shirt had gotten caught onto a snag. “Just go, leave me!” she hissed at Ana, who had immediately turned around when she noticed Olivia’s lack of presence next to her.

“Not a chance,” the captain murmured, hearing the guards get louder and louder with every step, trying to pull her shirt out. Eventually the gate had let go, and Ana didn’t put Olivia back on the floor, instead opting to hold her in her arms and run towards the dock that way instead.

Poseidon’s Daughter was in sight, and Lena was standing on the edge of the ship, waving her arms wildly and calling them. “WE HAVEN’T MUCH TIME, MOVE IT!” the tiny Brit bellowed with a voice too big for her.

Zarya got on first, holding Angela with a gentleness that should have been impossible for Russia’s Strongest Woman. Lena dashed back to the wheel, calling Ana and Olivia. “RUN FASTER OR I’LL GET ME MAM TO CHOP YOUR LEGS OFF, YOU DAFT COWS!”

And Ana had soon caught up, jumping on board just as the ship lurched into life, moving away from the dock as the guards finally caught up yelling obscenities in both English and Japanese.

The boat eventually moved out into open water, leaving the tiny port behind as the crew had all clamoured around Zarya, who moved them all back. “Captain’s orders are to take her into the storage room,” she stated as calm as ever as she headed down the stairs with Angela in her arms, Ana following her.

Once there, Ana pulled out a wooden chair, Zarya setting the princess on it. She showed no signs of waking, it seemed, and Ana crouched to get a better look.

Her tall frame and slender body rivalled that of any Ana had previously seen. Through her eyelashes, the captain could make out that her blue eyes, like the sea, were calm and emotionless. Long, wavy blonde hair, so smooth and silky, almost as if it was tailored from gold fabric. Her lips were a pale pink that reminded Ana of a rose bud. The top lip was thinner, but not too thin, and it had a natural cupid's bow; the bottom one was larger and more plush.

It took the Egyptian a few moments to compose herself enough to look away. “She’s beautiful,” she murmured though, before standing up, facing Zarya. “The alcohol will wear off in a few hours, and by that time it’ll be morning. Tie her to the chair, make sure she can’t slip out. I…I’m going to sleep after that.” Ana paused, before reaching out and patting Zarya’s shoulder. “You go to sleep too, okay? This is the one day I’m letting you sleep in,” she chuckled slightly.

“Goodnight, Zarya,” Ana had chimed, like she always did to each one of her crew members.

“Goodnight, Captain,” Zarya replied dutifully, before Ana had left the room, leaving it quiet once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No jackets were harmed in the making of this.


	3. I Was Glad It Was Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for mentions of sex trafficking and one tiny homophobic slur.

Angela awoke with a startled jolt. All around her was empty black darkness, and it took her a second to realise that she was blindfolded. She tried moving her arms and legs, but it seemed they were stuck in place too. Rope chafed her wrists and she grunted slightly, her head still light and groggy. She couldn’t remember much from last night, only vaguely being grabbed by a man and then falling asleep. She supposed she’d been asleep up until now.

And then she let out a chilling scream.

On the other side of the ship, Ana looked up from her pint of ale and sighed. “She’s awake, I guess,” she said as she pushed her chair back and got up, swigging the rest of her ale before heading downstairs, Ashe shortly following.

Ana stopped and turned her head, smiling a little at her first mate. “You want to see her too? Jeez, she’s not a pet in zoo that she’s something to be stared at.”  
Ashe shrugged as they both headed down the stairs into the spare room. “Yeah, well, I just wanna see. It’s unfair that I, as the first mate, didn’t get to see her but the kid did!”

The captain suddenly shushed her as they stood in front of the door. “Shh! Stay quiet. You don’t want to send her into a panic.”

Ashe had angrily protested. “She’s been kidnapped, that’s enough to send her into a panic! I just wanna hear her voice!”  
“Of course you’re going to hear her voice, just shut up for a bit and let her speak first. She might need to say something important.”  
“The fuck is a kidnapped woman going to say that’s gonna be concern to us?”  
“She’s a princess too, you dipshit. She might offer us even more money if we let her go.”

Ana signalled one last time for Ashe to silence, before opening the door quietly, though it didn’t go unnoticed by the woman held captive.

“Who are you?!” Angela demanded, though her voice was shaky and she was on the verge of tears. “What do you want from me?! Don’t come any closer!” By the sound of it, there was definitely more than one pair of footsteps that had entered. Were they men? Enemies of her husband? Had they come to kill her? Rape her? She felt her stomach churn slightly as she writhed in the thought of the men watching her barely clothed like this.

And so she was surprised when she heard the voice of a female speak out to her.

“Angela...Ziegler, is it? Or Shimada? Which should I address you by?” Ana asked politely. It was best to have your captive like you in some sense. Be too loving and they’d trick you. Be too harsh and they wouldn’t cooperate. It was best to balance them out.

Angela’s heart rose at the sound of the motherly voice. “Have you come to rescue me? Please, I was brought here by this man and they kidnapped me and I’ve been here for so long!” she said, her words coming out rushed and panicked and stressful.

Ana blinked, before motioning to Ashe to take off the blindfold. The first mate untied the material, and Angela blinked, getting used to the light after being in darkness the whole time. And when she laid her eyes upon Ana, she couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was.

Her tanned skin was that of a honeyed brown, soft and smooth to the touch, she could tell. But it were her eyes that encaptured her. Their light brown color was soft, the exact shade of freshly brewed coffee. A ring of gold hung inside her iris, adding another layer of depth to the already captivating colour. Her lips weren’t the biggest, but they seemed kissable and smooth, though they hinted at always being upturned in a smirk.

Ana huffed a small laugh and crouched in front of Angela, tilting her head slightly. “A man? You mean Zarya? She’s got a rather muscular figure, but she’s not a male.”

“Yes, her, I remember her grabbing me and−how do you know her name?” Angela suddenly asked, before her face contorted into horror. “You’re one of them? You kidnapped me? I thought you had come to save me! You tricked me!” She then started to scream for help. Incredibly loudly.

“In our defense, none of us said we were going to help you,” Ashe reasoned as she watched the blonde woman squirm and kick in her seat.

“Shut up!” the hostage had screamed back at her, instantly shutting the American up as she glared at the Egyptian woman still crouching in front of her. “You…you dirty pirates! My husband will hear about this! He’ll kill you all! You will die a most painful death once I tell him!”

Ana nodded, pretending to look like she was interested. “Fair enough. But how exactly are you going to tell Mr Shimada about this? He’s all the way in Switzerland, isn’t he?”

“Probably using some girl for a cock cosy,” Ashe mumbled under her breath, sulking in the corner as Angela’s face fell and she realised her plan was shattered to pieces.

“Y-you’re wrong!” the blonde tried calling out, but her throat was hoarse from crying and she wasn’t even sure that she believed herself. “You dirty pirates will all be hung! You’ll be begging for mercy when you’re being shot!”

“Bold of you to assume we’ll even be caught,” Ana retorted rather cheekily, watching the woman in front of her squirm and struggle against the rope. “You’re making this much harder for yourself, you know. If you cooperated, this wouldn’t be so difficult.”

Angela glared at the two of them, gritting her teeth with a fury she thought was intimidating. “I have no desire to cooperate with you, wretched thief! Now let me off of this ship or my husband will blow it apart! You disgusting, vile, foul beasts!”

“Now listen here, ginger-snap,” Ashe suddenly interrupted, pointing her pistol accusingly at the woman, “you’re all hat and no cattle, so don’t you start any funny business with me or I’ll shoot you into the middle of next week.”

Angela’s eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the rather brutish American point her rifle at her. “Shoot me then. There’d be no point, and then my men would be all over you,” she smirked slightly, knowing she was getting on the American’s nerves.

Ashe cocked her gun and snarled.“Oh you piece of shit,” she murmured, but the captain stood, placed a hand on her rifle and pushed it away.

“She’s provoking you on purpose; you need to learn not to take the bait,” Ana said rather calmly, before watching Angela duck her head down and try to avoid Ana’s gaze. “You would do well not to insult my first mate. Not so deadly with words but deadly with a gun, I’m telling you that.”

“Don’t talk to me,” Angela quickly replied, a snarl in her throat, “I wouldn’t want to associate myself with such filth.” She looked up between her blonde bangs, her icy blue eyes boring holes into Ana.

Of course, the captain was not intimidated. Ana blinked, before erupting into laughter, much to the surprise of Ashe and Angela. “Sorry I’m not made of sugar, am I not sweet enough for you?” she asked teasingly, before turning back to the white-haired first mate. “Ashe. See to it that she gets something to wear. She’s about the same size as Amélie, I think.”

Ashe’s face suddenly turned into one of shock. “Captain, are you really going to make me do this? You want me to come back here and be in the same room as her? C’mon, Captain, don’t do me like this,” she hissed pleadingly.

“I wasn’t done talking,” Ana said, immediately shutting her first mate up. “Get her some food as well. You can untie her, but remove anything dangerous in the room. Lock the door once you leave.”

“Captain, please−”

“That was an order, first mate,” Ana said, a lot more sternly, before she looked back to the blonde woman in the chair.

This was for the greater good, right? Killing a member of the Japanese mafia that had conned thousands and was overall a dangerous man to both her and her crew; she was justified in her actions, wasn’t she? It wasn’t like she was going to hurt Angela if she cooperated. So this was all moral enough, wasn’t it?

“Good day to you, Mrs Ziegler,” Ana nodded, before she left the room without saying another word.

The hope in the woman’s voice earlier said otherwise.

\----

“It’ll take longer to set sail to Europe. What we should really do is sail around China, make a quick stop in India, head through the Red Sea, maybe stop in Egypt if you want, then from there we arrange to meet Genji in Italy,” Moira said, her long fingernails tapping on the map splayed out on the table. She took a long swig of her whiskey. “It would take us approximately three months at top speed without stopping for too long in India or Egypt.”

“What’s the big rush? I wanna go around India and see what it’s like,” Hana piped up, excitedly tapping her hands on the table, much to the irritation of Moira. “Lena also said India’s got really great food. She said she’d been there once when she was working for someone else. She said the food was so spicy that she was on the toilet for ages!”

Both Ana and Moira cringed slightly at the mental thought as the Irishwoman shook her head and sighed. “On that note, I think it’s best if you pop off for a bit and leave the adults to talk,” Moira told her assertively, her trademark frown forming. Hana stuck out her tongue, mumbled something under her breath in Korean before she ran off, presumably to find Olivia and harass her like she always did.

Ana sighed as she covered her face in her hands. “Why…why do you always scare people off? Is that your character trait or something? Was the author too lazy to give you a complex storyline with a complicated narrative that would have the readers swooning for you?”

Moira hissed defensively. “My boring old, slightly creepy aunt stereotype is better than your ‘I fuck all the girls because I’m mega sexy but I’m a good person at heart’ cliche. But continuing on from what I was saying, it’s possible to be there in not that long. India is about a month away, considering we’re right here in the East China Sea.” Her long finger moved a couple of centimetres down. “The South China Sea will only take us a week if we’re going full speed. After that, we sail a little longer, and then we’re at the Bay of Bengal.”

Ana nodded, drumming her fingers on the oak surface. Her golden rings glinted in the light and she tapped her chin in thought. “India is extremely risky to go to though. I’m almost certain Genji’s power stretches there as well. Is it the best idea that we stop there for a few days? What with our new arrival?”

Moira smugly lifted her head, as if she’d been waiting for this. “Well, I did speak to Olivia, since she’s got a lot of knowledge of pirating trades and routes, along with areas populated by gangs, including the mafia. And yes, Genji’s men will be populating Chennai. It’s a small city, we won’t be stopping for too long,” she paused to swig her whiskey once more and lean back in her seat, “but you can never be too careful.”

The captain raked her fingers through her black tresses as she looked hard at the map. “When and how are we going to actually plan to meet up with him?”

Moira sat up and waved her finger slightly. “I thought of that too. Once we’re in Chennai, you have to find his men and tell them to send a message to him. Vaguely threaten them if they try anything with you. If they start a fight, threaten to kill Angela. That will stop them, and they’ll deliver the message in no time.”

“What if they recognise me? I mean, I am unforgettable,” Ana grinned slightly, much to the dismay of the redhead in front of her.

“They won’t recognise you if you’re with people other than Zarya and Olivia. Remember that they didn’t see your face, but they saw that you were with a tall muscular woman and a shorter girl. So it’s crucial that they don’t come with you this time.” Then Moira looked at her hopefully, making Ana raise her brow and tilt her head.

“I’m going alone, if that’s what you wanted to ask. I don’t need you coming with me. You know we’d end up bickering. Besides, I can’t endanger the smartest person on board.” Moira smirked smugly and and the Egyptian sighed. "Don’t get too cocky though, you’re still not first mate,” Ana teased, before she stood up from the table, looking up at the bouncy young Brit in the crow’s nest atop the mast. “LENA!” she bellowed, cupping her hands around her mouth.

A small head peeked out as the girl waved. “Get down from there and turn the ship starboard!” Lena poked her head out once more, before scampering rather dangerously down the mass like in some sort of stunt. She jogged over to where the captain stood, the taller woman ruffling the shorter girl’s spiky locks. “Don’t do that, you idiot. We have a rope for a reason. You could’ve broken your leg, and then there’d be no one here to steer the ship.”

Lena sheepishly grinned before bouncing over to the steering wheel, yelling at the top of her lungs, “HEAVE-HO!” before she turned the wheel, the ship lurching slightly. Moira looked grim as she pressed her lips together tightly. “I’m going back inside to speak to Amelie,” she mumbled as she slightly staggered inside. Ana tutted slightly as she watched the Irishwoman disappear back inside. Whoever heard of a seasick pirate?

\----

“Knock knock,” a voice came from the other side of the sturdy wooden door. Angela lifted her head from her knees as the door opened, revealing Ana holding a bowl rather ceremoniously.  
“What do you want?” Angela snapped inching further and further away from the captain, who entered and shut the door behind her. The blonde pressed her knees to her chest whilst sitting against the wall, watching Ana with intent eyes.

The Egyptian knelt and put the bowl in front of her, before shuffling back and sitting. “Relax, I’m not going to hurt you. You just need to eat. You can’t survive on nothing,” she murmured, smiling as Angela’s frown deepened.  
“I would rather starve than eat something from you,” she hissed, but she couldn’t help but furtively glance into the bowl. A stew, she thought, made with some kind of meat and potatoes. The aroma that wafted from it made her want to snatch the bowl up but she couldn’t show weakness, even as her stomach whined.

“It’s not poisoned, don’t worry,” Ana reassured her as she pushed the bowl closer, the gentle clinking of her rings against the porcelain the only sound in the room. Angela looked up at her, narrowing her eyes.  
“How can I be so sure this isn’t a ploy to poison me? That you’re not going to kill me?” she retorted, studying her for any tell-tale signs that she was lying.

Instead, Ana chose to ignore her. “Actually, bread works really well with O’Hanlons stew, according to Moira. She wanted to cook today, seeing it a special occasion. I’ll get you some bread and ale with that,” she said as she stood up, Angela cupping the bowl in her hands and feeling the warmth against her skin. 

She remained quiet until Ana left the room. As soon as the door shut, she studied the stew carefully, before she dipped a finger into its warmth. She sucked her finger clean, and then she realised just how hungry she was. She looked up, making sure Ana wasn’t around, before she lifted the bowl to her lips, sipping slightly. The hearty warmth slid down her throat and made her shudder. It had been a long time since she had eaten something homemade like this.

Before she could continue though, Ana returned with a loaf of bread in one hand and a tankard of ale in another. She sat back down in her previous spot and pulled out a small dagger from her belt. Angela immediately shrunk back as Ana noticed her fear. “Hey, I’m not doing anything, don’t worry,” she reassured her, setting the tankard down and using her knife to slice the bread. She gave a slice to Angela, who still accepted it, but she was rather confused. “Why are you treating me like this?”

Ana looked up from her blade with a “hmm?” She tilted her head, as if to ask her to elaborate. Angela swallowed, before putting down her bread.  
“You’re…you’re treating me as if we’re friends. You’re giving me clothes to wear and food to eat. Do you…have any other motives?” she asked, and she was surprised to hear her voice full of fear. “Are you going to sell me?”

Ana blinked, before quickly shaking her head. “No, no! No, I’m not going to sell you! I-where did you hear that? I don’t engage in things like that. Well…” she trailed off, her fingers running up and down the metal of the blade. “I did. Once.”

“You bought someone?” Angela asked, before she immediately cursed herself for being too inquisitive. What are you doing?? You can’t trust this woman; you barely even know her! Ana smiled as she saw Angela was seemingly less shy.  
“It’s the story of how I met one of my crew members. Her name is Hana, and although she’s only eleven, she’s incredibly bright for her age,” the captain smiled fondly as she watched Angela dip her bread into the stew and chew thoughtfully.

The blonde nodded absentmindedly, unable to stop herself wolfing the delicious stew down. It had been ages since she last ate. “Two years ago, I was in Korea,” Ana started to say, and Angela put down her bowl and suddenly started listening intently. “I was there as a favour, transporting some goods for a ship that paid pretty well. It was my first time in Korea, and it was extremely busy, full of men who looked down on me for being an avid businesswoman. Still, I was determined to make a whole heck of a lot of money.”

“I eventually did get the stuff where they needed to be, but I didn’t know where I was going was particularly dangerous. I realised that was why the other ship paid us to do this joint, because this was an outlawed part of the city. They didn’t want to do the dirty work themselves. Still, I was determined not to let that steer me from my goal.” Ana paused, before she turned her dagger to the left and watched the iron handle glint in the light.

“Where I was going wasn’t safe for anyone, let alone a woman by herself in the middle of the night. Several times I had men harass me or call out licentious remarks. But after becoming a pirate, you learn not to care too much about uneducated old men and decide to focus on what will save your life. I delivered the goods to this rather sketchy place in an old part of Busan, and there I saw it.”

“Saw what?” Angela found herself asking, not caring about closing herself off, as she was too invested in this tale of the captain’s that had her on the edge of her seat. Ana stopped, before looking over at the blonde woman whose eyes reflected her curiosity. She smiled at that.

“An auction. But not just any auction,” she paused, tearing her gaze away from the woman in front of her. “They were selling women. Actual women, ones who had been ripped from their homes and dragged off into this disgusting black market of trade. Some of them selling for the millions. Women, being sold like toys, being shown off on a wooden stand as naked as the day they were born, whilst dirty, disgusting men bidded and watched the women with perverted eyes. And in the midst of the crowd of terrified women, I saw her.”

Angela heart pounded slightly. If you were kidnapped by any other pirate, I’m sure the same would have happened to you. You should be grateful you’re currently not being trafficked and possibly murdered. “Hana?” she asked, her throat dry as she swallowed.

Ana nodded and moved her legs slightly, the buckle on her leather boots digging into her skin. “She was nine years old, for god’s sake. They were selling a nine year old for sex. I-” she stopped for a moment to recollect her thoughts. “They sickened me. I remembered seeing her eyes red from crying, her tear-stained cheeks and the way she shook in complete horror when she was dragged along to the podium. The man started calling out her starting price, and it…it was a lot, I’ll tell you that. The bid just kept getting higher and higher and then I did it. $7,500. The highest bid there was, and I bid it. There was an unsettling silence as I felt all of those men’s eyes on me as I raised my hand. The man asked if I wanted to brand her, and of course I said no. He pushed Hana toward me, and the young girl limped in pain, over to me, and she bowed her head, as if she’d been trained. I remember the mixed reactions of the men. Some seemed aroused by the thought of some rather disgusting girl-on-girl action, whilst the others called me a ‘dirty queer.’ Incredibly original, isn’t it.”

“You saved her,” Angela said whilst the captain half-heartedly shrugged. “She would have been condemned to a life of slavery had you not been there.” Ana watched as Angela sat on her knees, her eyes wide and bright.

“I don’t know but…she changed something inside of me. The way her eyes pleaded, even though she had no idea who I was. She brought out this motherly instinct in me. Even though I’ll never have children, I saw her and immediately my first thought was to protect her from whatever these men were going to do to her,” Ana stopped, looking back up at Angela for permission to continue. The blonde nodded, and the captain carried on.

“It…it was very much an eye-opening experience for me. Nowadays I try not to be so brash and self-centred as I once had been. We’re like family here on Poseidon’s Daughter. We all look out for each other, because we have to. You know how risky it is having an all-female crew? We have to make sure nobody’s in danger of…well, anything. I care for my crew. A lot. I just don’t want anything to happen to them, you know?”

Angela nodded once more, not having much to say, but a lot to think about. The two sat in silence before Ana checked her pocket watch and sighed. “It’s late. Too late. I shouldn’t have kept you up, I’m sorry,” she apologised profusely whilst getting up to her feet, despite the pins and needles she had from sitting for so long. A look of disappointment flashed across Angela’s face as Ana picked up the empty bowl but full tankard. “Don’t you drink?”

The blonde reverted back to her quiet state. “No…” she mumbled, before quickly looking back up at Ana. “Will you come back tomorrow?”

Ana blinked, before tilting her head. “I may. Or I might even get Hana to come here. You could talk to her instead,” the captain replied softly, before she smiled. “Would you like that?” The woman on the floor nodded quickly, hiding her face in her knees immediately after. “Feel free to use the bed in the corner,” she called out, before turning to leave. The few steps she took echoed in the room, or perhaps her boots were just very loud. Ana glanced behind her for a moment, and she grinned at how quickly Angela had scampered over to the bed. Granted, it wasn’t completely the best, but it was sturdy and comfortable enough.

She then left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you too can eat like Ana and her crew!
> 
> O´Hanlons stew  
> (Irish 16th century style)
> 
> 4 portions
> 
> use a deep stewpan  
> 300 g of pork  
> 300 g of beef  
> a bottle of fine porter (Optional, of course)  
> 3 - 4 potatoes (Not very historically correct, I know. But it tastes better)  
> 300 ml of cream  
> 50 g of butter
> 
> Fry pork, beef and half a glass of porter in the butter. After about 5 minutes you can add the sliced potatoes. When the potatoes start to turn golden, add cream, porter and maybe a little salt and pepper. Let it cook for about 10 - 15 minutes. Serve with white bread and enjoy.


	4. I Can't Help Falling In Love With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pancakes and eggs. Two things very much alike, though you'd think they'd be different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey wow this took me ages because i suck lol
> 
> enjoy chapter 4, and leave a comment. really helps motivate me xx

The yellow ball of fire changed to hues of orange, and then almost tangerine. It merged with the sky, like juice-mix dissolving in a glass of water. The clouds were cotton-candy, as though they blushed at the warm touch of the sun. Silhouettes of birds flew home across a sky that was now magenta; and the sun was half into the water, but its reflection in the sea made it look complete. The mauve of the dusky sky intensified, and in just a while, the biggest star had set, giving way to a thousand others.

If she squinted hard enough, she could see the constellations she marked on her map. There was Auriga and Cassiopeia and Perseus and Cepheus, and many many more that littered the ombre of somewhat nostalgic colours. Nothing, nothing back in her bedroom with the tiny window in Egypt could compare to this. The absolute silence. The bliss. Nothing but the sound of the sea.

The sea.

The sea.

The air suddenly grew cold.

It had always been the sea.

She ran to the sea for comfort.

What would happen if she got bored of it?

Her mother. The sea.

What if the sea died?

What if she died?

Her own mother killing her. The irony would bleed out into the sand around her and paint her a shade of red that almost seemed too delicious to pass up.

Footsteps in bloody sand. The thud of her body.

Would she go to heaven? She helped save a young girl, and gave many unfortunate people a place to work. A place to live. Letting them make a name for themselves. Paying them, feeding them, caring for them like her own family.

Or would she go to hell? She had spilt people’s blood in order to give her family back home a better life. Illegitimate money. She kidnapped an innocent young woman to swindle a man out of his riches. It didn’t matter if he was sinful. She herself had bedded many women. Had played with their emotions. Had left them heartbroken as she promised to stay with them and then let them wake up to an empty bed.

What if she died?

\----

Ana’s eyes snapped open as she felt her lungs devoid of air. She panted slightly, her eyes widening as she tried to make sense of her hazy surroundings. Just a stupid dream. She was still onboard Poseidon’s Daughter. The ship lurched slightly to the left, pressing her body against the wooden wall. The firmness of the mattress irritating her back, Ana peeled herself off of the offending object, glancing around her room. 

The piano in the corner laid untouched, as always. She’d stolen it from the Queen of the Netherlands' bedroom after a particularly steamy encounter in which she found out that Her Highness had a thing for being tied up. Her eyes travelled away from the shiny black to instead look at her wooden case with a glass cover. Inside, locked away, were her collection of knives, each from various countries she had pillaged from. It was not often that she killed with a knife, but the sheer beauty of a blade glinting in the light was enough reason for her to keep one in her belt, although it poked her sometimes.

She turned around to her desk, opening the drawer and blindly searching for her pocket watch. Ana flicked the catch open, studied the face of the clock, then grunted as she slammed it back down. She never usually woke up this late. Probably that stupid fever dream. The captain kicked away the sheets as she got to her feet again, feeling the blood rush back down to her toes. Usually her dreams were about her family back home, and ended rather abruptly; this one felt different, however. She brushed it off as she began to strip in front of the long mirror pane, her simple nightgown falling to the floor around her ankles.

Ana studied herself in the mirror for a moment. She was muscular, but not grotesquely so. The slight curve of her biceps complimented the deep lines that formed her toned abdomen, something she had worked very hard for. Littering her body was a variation of scars, some creating lines across her ribs, others creating small slashes in otherwise perfect seamless caramel skin. Running up her back was an inky black tattoo of the goddess of life and fertility, Isis, with her emerald green and sapphire blue wings spread open, the longest feathers reaching up to her shoulders. Just below the drawing was a phrase written in Arabic script: “مصائب قوم عند قوم فوائد”, meaning “the misfortunes of some people are advantages to others.” It was a saying Ana lived by, and it helped, along with alcohol, to ease her worries about morality. She was rather self conscious of her face though, and couldn’t help but criticise it. “Your face is too long, your eyes are too bright, your smile is not beautiful enough to attract a woman.”

Ana pushed the thoughts to the furthest corner of her mind as she stepped out of the confines around her ankles and sauntered towards her wardrobe and unlocking it with the key that had been left there since yesterday morning, as it always had been. A variety of white shirts she kept neatly hung up, meticulously sewn coats that trailed along the floor and commanded attention, and her usual scarlet jacket that stopped mid-thigh, with her “boring brown” waistcoat, as Hana so gently put it. Ana smiled at the thought as she pulled out her usual black pants, ironed to the near point of it catching on fire. Her fingers pulled out a shirt with her waistcoat, and she wasted no time in putting them on, straightening them in the mirror. And then the finishing touch, the bright red coat that sealed the look.

The captain smoothed it down, lifting the collar upwards as she always did. She turned back to her bed, quickly heading toward her bedside table. Scattered across the top were her rings, her signature gold rings, worth a fortune, sentimentally and financially. She slipped them on slowly, savouring the feel of the cold metal against her warm skin. With the last gold ring on, she felt slightly better, more like the person she presented herself as and not the person she hid. Ana picked up a comb from her drawer and, slowly but surely, started to rake it through her hair, wincing at how it pulled the knots. After a few moments, her hair was silky smooth like before, and she smiled as she put the comb down and sat back onto the mattress. She lifted her boots up from their place next to her bed and slipped them on one by one. The buckle was a little difficult, but with time she fastened them both on, the feeling of her new persona settling over her.

She wasn’t Ana anymore. She was Captain Amari, and she had to set an example for her crewmates; she had to keep them in line and keep them disciplined. Ana smiled proudly, before straightening her jacket once more, and heading out the door and towards the deck.

\----

“Who’s making breakfast?” Zarya asked as the entirety of the crew, besides Amelie, were sitting around the table.  
Olivia drummed her fingers on the table as she hopped up and down in her seat. “Who’s turn is it? I’m starving, I don’t eat breakfast after 11am and if I die from starvation then it’s all your fault.”  
“Can it, Colomar,” the large Russian lady murmured as she caught sight of Ana coming in. “Captain. You woke up late.”  
Ana rubbed her temples as she nodded, waving her off with a move of her hand. “Yes yes I know. I’m sorry. I had a bad sleep.” She noted the empty table and clicked her teeth. “Who’s turn is it to cook again?”

“Yours, captain!” Lena cheerfully chirped as she leapt onto the sturdy wooden table, spilling Ashe’s tankard of beer down the American’s shirt, staining it an ungodly brown. Ashe spluttered as she threw the glass across the room. “You’re gonna pay for that, shit face,” she muttered as she stood up, presumably to throw Lena off the table. Moira, however, pulled her back down to her seat and groaned into her hands.

“Sometimes I wonder why Ana chose you as first mate. It was an accident, you need to stop getting so riled up,” she hissed sharply under her breath.  
“Fuck y’all, I ain’t taking orders from the likes of you, O’Deorain. Especially not since you’ve been insulting me,” Ashe retorted, while Ana pulled Lena by her collar off the table and onto the floor.  
“Get something clean to wear Ashe. Moira, stop insulting her,” she warned, before turning her head back to the kitchen. “Did you stock up when we arrived in Japan?”  
“Yes captain,” Lena called as she bounced over to sit next to Hana, who was currently rocking from side to side on her own stool.  
“What did you get?”  
The young Brit scratched her head slightly as she thought for a moment. “Uh, these lemon looking things, ‘cept they’re kinda smaller and not nice on it’s own, uh…some fish, some ham, some beef, I think we got bacon, sake, these cake thingies, milk, eggs, and the rest of the stuff we usually buy.”

Ana nodded, before she took off her jacket and waistcoat, throwing them at Hana, who caught them with a grin. “Do you want to cook with me?” she asked her with a smile, and the young Korean leapt to her feet and nodded. She bounded up to her to catch up as Ana headed towards the kitchen, opening the door to let the child through. She turned back to the rest of her crew. “Zarya,” she said aloud, the Russian woman turning to attention. “See to it that Moira doesn’t fight with Ashe. Also, where’s Amelie?”

Lena looked up as if she was about to say something, but shook her head. “Probably asleep. She’s uh, been ill, I think. Heard her coughing all night,” she said quickly, averting Ana’s gaze. The captain nodded, not entirely sure of whether to believe her, but nonetheless headed into the kitchen anyway.

Hana pulled up a small wooden stool and stood next to Ana on it, her hands on her hips with a determined look on her face along with a grin. “What are we making?” she asked cheerfully whilst the captain rolled her sleeves to her elbows. Kneeling, she opened the cupboard and carefully pulled out a wicker basket full of eggs. “Get that pan over there,” Ana murmured, pointing to the crockery and utensils hung up on the rack above the Korean’s head.

“Yes captain!” Hana saluted as she stood on her toes, reaching up her arms and grasping the metal pan.

“And another.”

She reached to grab the pan next to it, and in her haste dropped the first pan onto the floor, it resonating with a loud CLANG. Ana’s head jolted up as she looked over at Hana. “Be careful, damn it.”  
Hana grinned and picked up the pans and started clanging them together and creating a rather loud racket that sounded as if a marching band had suddenly emerged from the kitchen. The captain quickly placed the wicker basket on the counter and lifted Hana up, struggling to keep her arms away from each other. “You can’t make noise now,” she grinned slightly as she wrestled with the young girl, who squealed and laughed before she gave up, letting Ana pick her up.

“I can yell,” Hana retorted quickly and stuck her tongue out, and Ana sighed, putting the rebellious child on the counter. She knelt slightly so they were face to face and she pinched Hana’s cheek fondly, sighing. “Don’t you want to make pancakes and scrambled eggs?” Her face contorted into one of surprise as her eyes lit up eagerly.  
“Yes!”  
Ana hummed as she leaned forward and kissed Hana’s forehead, the latter squirming in embarrassment. “Good. There’s some flour in that bad, can you pass me it?” she said as she reached above Hana to grab a glass bowl. She opened another cupboard and pulled out a glass bottle of milk. Hopefully it wasn’t out of date. She twisted the cap off and sniffed it suspiciously. Milk didn’t even smell like anything, what was she even thinking of doing?

“Drink some.”

Hana turned around, small paper bag in hand as her face grew into a look of confusion. She peered into the bottle and grimaced. “Eww, why?”  
“I want to know it’s not out of date.”  
“That’s gross, captain, stop,” Hana retorted, but she put the bag down and took the bottle. Giving it a tiny sip, she nodded as she handed it back. “Yup, it’s all good.”  
Ana nodded as she poured the milk in, the liquid looking rather watery and pale in the bottom of the glass bowl. She reached for the eggs absentmindedly. “How much is enough?”  
“420.”  
“No.”  
“Okay, five. You’re making it for like, eight people. Well, nine. Is this for Angela too?” The girl hopped up onto the counter and swung her feet, watching Ana fish out five eggs from the basket.  
“No, of course not, I’m going to starve her and leave her to drink the rum in the cellar,” Ana gasped incredulously, “because I’m that cruel that I’d do that.”  
“Are you joking?”  
“What do you think?”

Hana shrugged, watching Ana meticulously crack the eggs one by one into the bowl, then reaching for the flour. “How much flour is enough? Three handfuls?” she asked as she poured it in. The mixture looked rather sad and small in the bottom of the bowl, the concoction of raw eggs and flour and milk causing the child to grimace. “Eww. Nasty.”  
“You’re nasty,” Ana replied tauntingly as she poked her nose. “Now fetch me a spoon.”  
“Can I mix it?” she asked hopefully, blinking rapidly in an attempt to batter her eyelashes. Ana raised her eyebrows suspiciously. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Hana. Actually, she didn’t. But she couldn’t say no, exactly.  
“Knock yourself out,” she found herself saying, Hana fist-pumping the air in victory and reaching for the wooden spoon drawer. Ana moved to the stove and placed the two pans on the burners, reaching into her jacket pocket for something whilst fiddling with the knobs. Hana, however, seemed to be having a grand old time excitedly mixing the rather lumpy looking mixture, not noticing the grimace on Ana’s face. “Yeah, you keep doing that,” she murmured, reaching for an egg. She tapped it on the side of the counter, before opening it above the pan, the golden yolk and white sizzling contently.

“My superior mixing skills have made this pancake mixture the best you’ve ever tasted,” the young Korean suddenly chirped, slamming the spoon down onto the counter. Ana looked over, unable to stop the fond smile on her face even as she carried on frying more eggs. “Is that so?” she hummed rhetorically, reaching for the bowl Hana had just been holding. Moving a little over to the side, she poured some of the mixture in, creating a perfect circle in the centre of the pan. Handing the pan to Hana, the young girl braced herself, as if she was about to perform a very delicate experiment. Shutting her eyes, she inhaled, before tossing the pancake into the air.

The pancake landed neatly on the other side. Ana ruffled the young one’s hair, her smile growing when Hana whined and fidgeted as the captain leaned down to kiss her head. “How do you know how to do that?” she murmured, pulling out a plate from a drawer. She took the red hot pancake quickly and placed it on the plate, shaking her hands a little from the pain. Hana opened her mouth, then suddenly closed it, her face contorting into a more solemn look.

“I used to watch my mother cook all the time before…before they came and took me.” Her voice was hollow. Empty, with little to no emotion. Ana’s body ran cold. This was a child. An eleven-year-old child. No child should have to go through that: having their childhood ripped away from them cruelly and the long arm of the law not doing anything to give these children better lives.

“I’m sorry, Hana, I didn’t mean to bring that up.”

Suddenly, just as joltingly as before, Hana’s face turned into one of indifference. “Nah, it’s okay. I have you guys now anyway. And you’re, uh, well, kinda like my mom, so I guess it doesn’t really matter. I have a lot more friends now. Lena taught me how to do tricks with her butterfly knife.” Ana watched as Hana flipped more pancakes, unsure of what to say. Was she hiding how she felt? Was she trying to cover up her sadness with the fact that she was in a better place now?

The silence grew awkward as Ana plated the eggs, still mulling over her next word choice. Instead though, Hana decided to speak for her. “So. What about you? Aren’t you incredibly lonely?”

“Why would you think that?” Ana said defensively, perhaps a little too quickly. Hana eyed her, plating the pancakes as she did so.  
“Because you’re not in a relationship.”  
“Amelie and Lena are the only people in a relationship here,” Ana retorted playfully, lifting up the plate of eggs in one hand, and the plate of pancakes in the other.  
“Well, Olivia isn’t interested in anyone, Zarya doesn’t seem interested in anyone here, and Ashe and Moira totally eye-fuck when they’re arguing.”  
“Watch your language,” the captain reprimanded. And then suddenly her mind was filled with thoughts of the blonde girl in the cellar. The cute blonde girl who was much much younger than Ana. She shook her head. “And I’m not lonely. I never have been. I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

Hana watched her as she opened the door, squinting in an attempt to scrutinise her. “Sure you’re not lonely. And I’m not the best person on this ship.”  
“I believe you,” Ana teased, and Hana punched the captain’s hip weakly, causing her to laugh.  
“Go give the breakfast out, silly,” she grinned slightly, pointing toward the door.  
“Aye aye, captain,” Ana called back, and Hana watched her disappear into the dining room, and heard Lena’s playful chirps even through the walls. Sighing as she did so, she followed, shutting the door behind her.

\----

“Where is she?” Ana asked once more, this time rather impatient. The breakfast was long gone, and it was coming close to midday. Ashe leaned back in her chair, tipping her hat over her eyes and pulling out a cigar. “You got a match, cap?” she drawled, catching the box Ana threw at her. “Thank ya kindly.” She dragged the match across the wooden table, the match head catching on fire. She lit the cigar, puffing out a ring of smoke, before extinguishing the match by dousing it in her leftover ale. “Now, where’s who?”

“Amelie. I haven’t seen her all day. She can’t have been asleep for half the day,” Ana murmured. She tapped her fingers on the oak table, gold rings clinking as she did so.  
Ashe shrugged, taking another puff of her cigar. “I dunno, cap. Didn’t Lena say she was ill? Sounds like the dog’s ran a rig around you. Or maybe Amelie’s an afternoon farmer. You never know what the two of ‘em were up to last night, eh captain?” she began to cackle before wheezing as the cigar smoke got into her lungs. Ana tapped her chin. Was Amelie avoiding duties? She never had done before, but perhaps she had been influenced by her girlfriend, who shirked more than her fair few.

“I’m going to go look for her,” the Egyptian firmly decided as she got up from her chair, Ashe watching with mild interest.  
“You finally deciding to take initiative, huh? Good for you.”  
Ana couldn’t stop the tiny smile appearing on her face. “I am the captain of this ship. I’m not an idiot.”  
“Never did say ya were,” Ashe replied, but she couldn’t help but chuckle. She inhaled, then exhaled, smoke billowing from her nostrils.  
“Enough of the backchat and get back to work, Ashe. I need you to angle the sails again.”  
“When do you not need me to angle sails?” she groaned as she lifted her hat out of her face, eyeing Ana suspiciously.  
“That’s an order, Caledonia,” she commanded, but her grin grew slightly. “Go do your duties.” She put Ashe’s hat back over her face and smiled as she headed towards the door. She twisted the knob, but looked back to the American smoking. “Also, someone needs to prep the cannons and put them back inside.”  
“Yeah yeah, I heard you,” Ashe retorted lazily. “Go do whatever.”  
“How sweet of you,” the captain cooed dryly, but she smiled. “I’ll be back soon.”

Ana left the room quickly, speed walking as fast as she could down the steps to the crew’s cabins. Lena and Amelie used to have separate cabins but ever since they became closer, they had started to share one. Ana had no issue with that, since Lena had cleared out her old cabin and that left a spare room that might come in handy. She decided to check there first. Cracking open the door, she poked her head in slightly. 

The room was as empty as always. She should’ve known she wouldn’t have been in there. Shutting the door, she moved to the one next to it. Ashe’s room, she supposed. The big hand painted sign of the words “stay out!” in bright red paint should have been a giveaway. She opened the door again and grimaced. The stench of bodies and sweat was one that was familiar to Ana, but this smelled more recent. Either Ashe was aggressively masturbating, or she’d had sex this morning. Odd as it was, Ashe had a sort of rugged charm to her. She was certain she could seduce almost any girl. Almost. The time she tried to seduce Ana before they met formally was a tale she teased her with many times.

She shook her head, shutting the door quickly, trying to get rid of the mental image of Ashe having sex. Gross. She turned on her heels, finally getting to Amelie’s room. Ana pressed her ear against the door. Silence. She doubted she was even there. She placed her hand on the knob, before bursting open the door rather violently. Empty. Lena had obviously lied to her about the whole “ill” act. She slammed the door shut, her mind lost in thought. Where was she? Ana doubted she’d thrown herself overboard. Death by irony is always painful.

The bathroom? Empty.

The officer’s quarters? No one in sight.

The gun deck? Might as well have been abandoned.

Ana headed back upstairs, to the waiting eyes of Ashe. “Did you find her?” The captain sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.  
“No. She’s not in any of the rooms. I’m getting worried. Did you stop the ship while I was asleep?”  
Ashe raised a pert brow and gestured to the mass of water the ship was currently streamlining through. “Does it look like we could stop even if we wanted to? Besides, you haven’t checked everywhere.”  
Ana huffed, slightly offended. “Of course I did.”  
“No, you didn’t. Otherwise you’d have found her. You’ve not checked the storage room yet, have you?”  
Ana fell silent in thought. “I thought I said no one was allowed in there.” Ashe shrugged and took off her hat, playing with it idly as the captain rushed back down the stairs, heading straight for the door at the end of the hall.

But then she heard talking. She skidded to a halt and pressed her ear against the door, eager to listen to whoever was inside.

A quiet, rather nervous sounding voice. “What is she like? Is she aggressive? Violent? Does she shout a lot? Will she hurt me?”

A laugh coming from the other person. Ana didn’t even need to guess; she knew it was Amelie. The thick accented voice was more than a hint. “No no, not at all. You’ve no reason to be scared. As…much as she tries to seem intimidating, she isn’t. Not really.”

“Are you not biased, since she’s given you somewhere to stay in return for medical help?”

“Not biased. She’s truly wonderful, the captain is. She has unrivalled wit and a sharp, skillful tongue. Kind, loving, loyal, honest. And she’s rather charming as well; a quality trait in a partner. If you ask me, the women who’ve rejected her hand in marriage are as stupid as they are blind.”

“She’s—she tried to get married?”

“More than once, yes. She builds up all this courage for months when she speaks to a woman she is fond of, but then gets shot down when they say that marrying another woman is scandalous. She then falls into her depressive state and sometimes won’t come out of her room for days. She’ll be angry, but never at us. She knows it’s not our fault. She’s a good captain, she doesn’t deserve to be hurt.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little overreacting?”

“Would you call it overreacting if everytime you tried to propose, you were shot down?”

“I suppose not. However, I do wish I had gotten married at a later age. I've never really truly fallen in love—”

And then Ana opened the door. She stood, her head tilted with her brow raised. “Am I interrupting anything, ladies?” The two women almost jumped in their seats, immediately turning their heads towards the captain. Angela shrunk back into the corner of her bed whilst Amelie stood to attention. “I’ve been looking for you. Funnily enough, you’re down here. Right where I told everyone not to go.”

“Captain. My apologies, I-I should have come for breakfast. But you did take rather long to wake up so I came to give Angela breakfast and—”  
“Calm down. I was actually going to make you clean the deck, but your reason seems valid enough. Go upstairs and get back to work. Don’t try anything funny like that ever again.” A meek “yes captain” from Amelie as she quickly headed upstairs, her head hanging in embarrassment.

Ana watched the blonde fidget and play with her fingers. “Have you eaten?” Angela looked up from her knees and nodded warily, shuffling away as she did so. She seemed afraid that Ana was going to reprimand her for speaking to Amelie, although that was not the case. Ana moved towards her bed and sat down on the opposite side, careful not to scare Angela by coming too close. She smiled gently. “Would you be against me unlocking this door and letting you walk around the ship? Just to see how my crew is around you. Of course if you’re uncomfortable, you can always stay here, but…it seems my crew is more fond of you than I thought.”

Angela looked over at her in mild surprise, her eyes widening as she turned her head. “What? But I’m supposed to be held captive, why would you set me out? That’s…not what anyone else would do.” She quietened in thought.

“I have faith you won’t do anything. Besides, they’ve all been asking about you. And I don’t like keeping you down here. Not that good to be away from human contact for too long.” Angela studied her face, as if trying to scrutinise a lie. She surprised herself when she couldn’t find one.

“I wouldn’t be against it.”

A rather handsome smile grew on Ana’s face, Angela noticed, and she flushed slightly pink and went back to fidgeting with her hands. “Perfect. I’m glad I don’t intimidate you. I wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable while you’re here.” A shy “okay” she whispered with a dry throat as the captain settled into silence once more. She stood up, then held out her hand for Angela. The blonde looked at it in surprise, before glancing up and studying Ana’s expression, surprised to find nothing but a genuine smile.

Carefully, she took her hand, and as skin met skin, an electrifying shock ran through her. But this was much more pleasant. Smooth cool rings made contact with warm skin, and Ana pulled Angela up to her feet, and it was only then Ana had glanced down and saw that Angela had the body of a gracefully slender ballet dancer. “I seem to keep forgetting that you’re a princess,” Ana murmured fondly as she gazed upon such a perfect heart shaped face that even angels would have wept upon it and cast her into a beautiful statue of marble to be admired forever by the gods who created her.

And slowly, ever so slowly, Ana lifted Angela’s hand to her lips, kissing soft ivory fingers so delicately that she might as well have been made of porcelain. Angela’s lips parted slightly as a soft gasp left her. Her hands had always been delicate. Her heart thumped in its ribcage, fluttering like a butterfly between cupped fingers. Ana lifted her head up, seemingly shimmery golden eyes speaking reams of poems, yet she herself had not uttered a word. How beautifully wonderful this scenario was, and how absurd that both Angela and Ana had felt their hearts succumb to this. This…this joyous ecstasy, this intoxicating, lusciously rich elation of rhapsodies that entwined their hearts in that moment.

As Angela felt Ana’s grip slipping away, she immediately grasped back onto the golden-ringed fingers, much to the surprise of the captain. “Why don’t you…show me around?” she said, words coming out rather breathless as scarlet reddened her cheeks lightly.  
Ana studied her expression for a moment, unsure if she had overstepped a line, but was pleasantly surprised to find Angela giving the tiniest of nods and a light squeeze to her hand. She hummed slightly.

“But of course. I could never pass up such a lucrative opportune.”


	5. Where We're Going, We Don't Need Roads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contrary to popular belief, the wings of demons are the same as the wings of angels, although they’re often better groomed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who just reread Good Omens. It is I, thot.

Ana helped Angela into her seat, a smile spreading across her face. She took the chair next to her. Zarya sat opposite them, a small smile on her face as well. “You are looking a lot better than a few days ago,” she murmured, and the captain nodded in agreement, watching the blonde flush a shade of pink that deliciously crawled down what little Ana could see of her chest.  
“Thank you,” she mumbled, her hands shyly playing with the hem of her skirt. The kitchen door opened, and out came Ashe and Hana, carrying plates of what seemed to be roast beef and potatoes. Ashe raised an eyebrow as she set the table, watching Angela intently. “What’s she doing here?”  
“I said she could eat with us today, Caledonia,” Ana replied curtly, moving to grab the bottle of wine in the centre of the table and open it. Hana gasped as she quickly ran over to the blonde, her hands covering her mouth as if in a pantomime.  
“You’re Angela?” she asked, as if in shock. The blonde’s eyes widened before she glanced over to Ana, who was seemingly dazed by Angela’s beauty and decided to just admire her instead of responding.  
“I’m Angela, yes,” she said quietly, her voice no louder than a squeak.

Hana’s face lit up like a star. “Are you the captain’s lady love?”

Ana snapped out of her lovestruck gaze and almost fell back in her seat, whilst Angela had taken to choking and covering her mouth quickly, her face reddening as she did so. “What? Who told you that?” Ana managed to say, unable to help the red tinge forming on her face.  
“Lena did,” she replied rather proudly, pointing over at the Brit who innocently sipped her ale and shrugged, although her grin grew three sizes. Next to her, Amelie murmured something into her ear, and Lena cheerfully piped up. “Maybe I did. But don’t think we ain’t seen you lookin’ at her with those lovey-dovey eyes,” she snickered into her cup whilst Ashe guffawed, taking a seat next to the Irishwoman. Moira huffed slightly and moved her plate away from Ashe, whilst the cowgirl leaned over, too close for comfort.  
“Aww, what’s wrong, O’Deorain? You feeling a little left out of the loving? Lookin’ a little green with envy, ain’t you?” she cooed teasingly. Moira pressed her palm to Ashe’s face and pushed her back into her seat.  
“I’d say you two are more in love than anyone else here,” Ana murmured knowingly, sipping her wine and rolling her eyes when she heard the two of them splutter.  
“I am not in love with this...this ruffian!” Moira suddenly protested, her voice loud and offended. Ashe nodded, slamming her fist down onto the table.  
“Agreed! I am offended that you’d even insulate that!”  
Moira groaned into her hand as Ana let out a hearty laugh. “The word is insinuate, fool,” she hissed into her ear. Ashe’s ears turned a slight red as she simmered down, picking up her cutlery with a look of embarrassment.

Angela watched everyone as they started to eat, apart from Ana. “Is there something wrong?” the captain asked, and the young woman visibly jumped at the sound. She shook her head, a little too quickly for her own liking, and then looking away guiltily.  
“Nothing’s wrong. You’re all just really close. I feel as if I’m intruding here.” She looked back at Ana, and then looked down at her plate. “Am I intruding?”  
Ana shook her head slowly, then moved her chair closer, leaning her elbow on the table. “No. No, of course not. They enjoy having you around, and it’ll be good company for however long you’re here.” She looked over at Angela’s plate. “Eat, and then I can show you around the ship, if that’s fine with you?” she tried to ask smoothly, but her elbow slipped and she banged her chin on the table. Hana laughed aloud, but Angela reached out, gingerly lifting her head up.

“Are you alright?” she asked, her voice full of growing concern. Her eyes showed clear worry, Ana saw, and the blonde’s hands delicately moved to touch her chin. “You’ve scraped it.” Ana snapped out of her trance and turned her head, extremely humiliated that she’d embarrassed herself in front of Angela.  
“It’s a scrape, nothing serious. You don’t have to act concerned.”  
“I’m not acting,” Angela said firmly, before lifting Ana’s head up to study the scrape.

“Maybe if you kiss it, it’ll go away,” Ashe teased, Lena cackling on the other side of the table through a mouthful of potatoes. Angela reddened and immediately went back to her plate, eating sheepishly. Ana glared at the offending American and Brit, before she started to eat too, sullenly sipping her wine. She glanced over to Angela, who seemed to be looking back at her with a small smile.

As they finished their meals in respective silence, Olivia pushed back her plate and sighed, leaning heavily on the table. “So what’s today’s dinnertime discussion on?” she asked, Ana glancing at her momentarily. The captain swilled her wine, looking back to Angela as she did so.  
“Is there a topic you want to discuss? We usually talk about politics and how all royalty is out to swindle the poor people and keep their money, but that might be a little strong.”  
Amelie sniffed. “No kidding, she is royalty.”  
Angela blinked, her eyelashes fluttering. She looked down awkwardly in thought, before fidgeting with her fingers. “Perhaps...religion? I don’t know, I don’t want to offend anyone,” she let out, no louder than a squeak.

“Interesting topic,” Zarya murmured, before saying aloud, “O’Deorain, do you believe in a god?”  
The response was quick and haste. “No. In fact, if there was a god, he’d have revealed himself to us a long time ago, perhaps by telling us not to pillage or murder or commit adultery. Everything on earth can be explained by science, so there’s no need to believe in some man in the sky,” Moira snapped, and then looked away, taking small forlorn sips of the water she had in her tankard.  
“But every ‘myth’ has some sort of truth to it,” Olivia piped up, sitting up straighter. “What if there was really a god, but he died?”  
“Gods aren’t meant to die, that’s the whole point of being a god!” Lena said rather angrily, Amelie stroking her spiky locks absentmindedly. “We might not have seen him, but we haven’t seen oxygen too! How do we know that doesn’t exist?”

Angela bit her lip and turned to Ana, who was lazily idling with her glass. “Did I make then angry?” she asked quietly, her voice akin to a whisper amongst shouts at the table. Ana looked over, then sat up, shuffling closer.  
“No no, not at all. They get really agitated cooped up on a ship sometimes, so these discussions help vent their frustration. Though you did pick a rather controversial topic. It’ll be interesting to hear everyone’s opinion on it.” Olivia pointed at the captain, whilst Lena shouted vulgar British slang at her that would be too horrid to even write down.

“Ask the captain, she’ll agree with me! She was brought up on religion, weren’t you?” Olivia asked, and the captain gave a half-hearted shrug.  
“Brought up on it, but questioning it. There might be a god somewhere out there, if he’s brave enough to show his face, but I’ve made my own luck my whole life. Certainly didn’t see any of that blessing from him. But perhaps there’s some celestial being out there who watches over us and takes us to Hell or Heaven. That’d be nice.”  
“I disagree,” Angela interrupted, and everyone turned to face her. Ana had come up with a good compromise there, what was there to disagree with?

“There is an absence in any good reason to believe in a god. Without good reason, belief simply isn’t worth having. It’s unimportant. None of us were born into a religion, and so it is proven that we do not need it. Beliefs are acquired through culture and education. However, it is not ultimately up to me to justify atheism. Rather, it is up to a theist to explain why belief in a god is reasonable. In the absence of such an explanation, theism should be regarded as irrelevant at best, but more likely irrational.” Angela suddenly calmed down from her onslaught of facts, before her face reddened and she brushed a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “I-I hope I didn’t offend anyone.” Silence, before Lena chirped up, “Moira, your spot as the smartest on board may be thwarted!” Amelie smiled softly as she leaned forward.  
“You’re incredibly intelligent, you know. Perhaps it is the upbringing.”  
“You had a rich upbringing, and you’re not that smart,” Zarya pointed out, Olivia cackling like the little demon she was.

Ana smiled at the display, before turning to Angela, leaning on the table and hoping to not have a repeat incident of what happened earlier. “She’s right, you know. You’re incredibly intelligent. Where’d you learn all this?” She couldn’t stop the butterflies in her stomach grow as Angela pouted with a furrowed brow. How did she not realise how incredibly attractive that made her?  
“I think I read a lot about things like that. I really like learning. It’s the one good thing I look forward to everyday. Reading and art and playing the piano.”

Incredibly talented as well. Ana could read and write, but when it came to arts, she was as blind as a bat. She’d learnt that the hard way when she was invited to the King of Versailles’ art festival in, well, Versailles. It was rather embarrassing seeing everyone else’s prestige works of art compared to her own. However, she did love masquerade balls. Perhaps she could convince Angela to go with her one day.

“You’re skillful with your fingers, I see,” Ana commented offhandedly, before she turned back to her crew, a slight smirk upon her face. “Alright, it’s getting late, you lot need to get your sleep. Last I checked, tomorrow we’re stopping in India.” She looked over to Zarya for confirmation, and the Russian nodded steadily. “Right, so you,” she said, pointing to Lena, “are going to wake up extra early tomorrow to steer into the dock, right?”

The chirpy British girl saluted, a toothy grin on her face, accentuating her dimples. “Aye aye, captain! Is there anything else you need doing?” Hana jumped up onto the table, clattering plates and cutlery as her feet clumsily knocked them over.  
“Captain says we’re going to have a free day tomorrow. That means I’m going to take Angela to the market and we’re going to buy clothes for her. Pretty Indian dresses too. The ones with the bright colours.”  
Moira hummed. “I’m going to stay on board.”  
“I am too!” Ashe quickly followed, her voice coming out slightly higher than usual. Ana raised her brow, but shrugged it off. They were awfully close, but that wasn’t her business. She had business to be getting on with tomorrow.

Angela looked over at the captain, before looking at the rapidly dismissing crew. “Why are you stopping in India?” Ana lifted her head slightly in the direction of the question. She gave a lazy, handsome smile.

“I suppose you could say I’m going to visit an old friend.”

\----

The two had walked around the ship, Ana eagerly showing off each of the extravagantly decorated rooms. They had finally stopped in the navigation room, the moonlight pouring into the windows from the bow of the ship. The light glimmered off the edge of the glass globe on the desk, filling the room with iridescent light. Everything was neatly polished and shone brightly. But Ana didn’t do it herself. Hana did it for her.

In fact the only things in the room Ana devoted any personal attention to were the houseplants. They were huge and green and glorious, with shiny, healthy, lustrous leaves. This was because, once a week, Ana went around the room with a brass plant mister, spraying the leaves, and talking to the plants. She had heard about talking to plants in a novel she once picked up, and thought it an excellent idea. 

Although talking is perhaps the wrong word for what Ana did. 

What he did was put the fear of God into them. 

More precisely, the fear of Ana. 

In addition to which, every couple of months Ana would pick out a plant that was growing too slowly, or succumbing to leaf-wilt or browning, or just didn't look quite as good as the others, and she would carry it around to all the other plants. "Say goodbye to your friend," she'd say to them. "He just couldn't cut it..." Then she would leave the room with the offending plant, and return an hour or so later with a large, empty flower pot, which she would leave somewhere conspicuously around the room. 

The plants were the most luxurious, verdant, and beautiful in the whole sea. Also the most terrified.

Angela walked toward the plants, her hands outstretched to touch the waxy green surfaces of a nearby aloe. “You must take good care of them for them to be like this.” Ana inhaled deeply as she made contact with the plants. No contact was to be made or they’d wilt and brown. Surprisingly, the plants perked up at her touch, and Ana watched as she studied them. “How do you get them to look so beautiful?”

“Mild persuasion,” Ana decided to respond with, before she headed across the room to the glass windows in front of where the table was positioned. She twisted the clasp and pushed the window open, the moonlight consistently streaming in, giving a perfect view of the night sky. She poked her head outside, cold wind hitting her face, and grinned as she felt the presence of Angela behind her. “It’s especially pretty tonight, isn’t it?” Ana murmured, the blonde peeking out as well. It took her a few moments to compose her thoughts.

“It is,” she ended up admitting. Her gaze travelled to her side, watching the captain idly, before glancing back up at the moon. She bit her lip gently, before letting go with a sigh.  
“Hard to believe that’s the one I’ve seen for the twenty years I’ve been on this boat,” Ana commented off-handedly, “because this one seems entirely different.” She looked back to Angela, unable to help the smile forming on her face when she saw the pure adoration she had in her eyes for the sky. The same gaze reminded Ana of when she used to climb as a child to the top of her house in Egypt and gaze upon the stars shining like sugar spilt over black marble, glistening in the sun. The night sky was such a welcome sight for her, appearing like magic at each sunset, promising to return as it faded in dawn's first light. 

Angela’s eyes lit up even brighter as she pointed up at the heavens above. “There’s Aurgia, and Cassiopeia, and--”  
“Perseus and Cepheus,” Ana finished off for her, watching the younger woman’s grin grow even more. Her heart seemed to grow a size more when Angela turned to her, her heart-shaped face illuminated by the pale ghost-like moonlight. The blonde’s hair glowed unearthly, as if a halo had formed around her head to show off the angel she was, and she gave off an excited smile. The captain blinked. Angela was akin to a child, a very excited child with hope and wonder and love for each new thing she came across. She had not seen that kind of love since she had met Hana.

Ana snapped out of her gaze, her eyes darting back to the open ocean, admiring how the moonlight glistened atop the undisturbed waters, sparkling like diamonds in the sun. She looked away rather regretfully, before moving to the table in the middle of the room. Pulling open the drawer, she took out a rather large wad of money. Judging by the weight, it seemed to be more than just simple costs for purchasing. Ana slipped it into her pocket and turned around, only to be met with the questioning eyes of Angela.

“Whose is that?” she asked simply, her head tilted in curiosity. “Is it yours?”  
“Of course it’s mine. I don’t steal my own crew’s hard earned cash, do I?” Ana had replied, slightly defensively. “I’m a pirate, not some petty thief.” Angela hummed, before she bounced on her heels.  
“What’s the money for?”  
Ana looked up from a poor attempt to straighten out her jacket. She decided to take it off instead, draping it on her plush red armchair. “I’m sending it to Egypt.”  
“Why?”  
Ana chuckled, running her fingers through her hair. “You’re an inquisitive one, aren’t you?” She sat herself on the plush armchair, laying her head back on the headrest. “It’s for my mother. I send money back home so I can pay for her treatment.” She shut her eyes and exhaled through her nose. “I also help pay the bills back home for both her and my sister.”

Angela moved to sit on the table, crossing her legs neatly in front of Ana. The captain opened her eyes at the sound of the movement and gave a lazy smile, rubbing her temples.  
“You have a sister?” Angela asked quietly with a smile, moving to place her hands in her lap. Ana looked up, gave a slight grin and a half-hearted nod.  
“Yeah. She’s, uh, about your age? Maybe slightly younger. Name’s Fareeha. The crew already know her from previous trips, but you’ll see her in a month or so.” She lifted her boots onto the table, leaning back with a slight smile that made Angela’s mouth upturn in the corners. “What about you? Any brothers or sisters?” The blonde shook her head, perhaps in sorrow or perhaps in indifference.  
“No,” she replied, swallowing in order to ease the words out. “It’s always been me and my mother and father. Then it was me and Genji. I’ve never met any of my relatives. Genji says it wouldn’t be good for me to mix with people of a lower caste.”

Ana’s eyes widened, though not enough to appear that she was shocked. She raised an eyebrow inquisitively, lifting her feet up onto the table. “I’m of a lower caste, do you dislike me?” the captain asked with mild interest, a low chuckle escaping her lips whilst she watched Angela’s cheeks redden. “I-I don’t hate you! You’re...you’re very sweet. I don’t think I could, even if I wanted to,” she said quickly. Perhaps too quickly. The blonde gained the courage to look back into Ana’s gaze, and she was met with a grin from Ana. The captain put her feet back on the floor and leaned in, folding her arms.

“Between you and me, I don’t think I dislike you either. Quite the opposite, I think,” Ana murmured, that same infectious smile growing. Angela’s lips parted, a soft exhale leaving them, and she blinked, eyelashes fluttering across a moonlight-ridden face.  
“I would never want to be dislikable. Especially not by someone like you.”  
“Someone like me?”  
Angela thought of what words to say. Unique was not a good enough word. “You’re extravagant in what you do. You have this--this aura of passion around you that burns so brightly that it’s almost contagious. You have wisdom and knowledge, which you help spread and strive to grow. You’re not malevolent like the pirates Genji told me about. You’re kind. You’re knowledgeable. You’re very different to a regular pirate. You have a purpose behind your actions.”

Angela’s blonde hair glowed in the light like a halo once more, and Ana’s heart skipped a beat. She reached out, her palm splayed, and Angela took it, their fingertips brushing against each other’s with the sort of intimacy you would not expect to be real. “We aren’t so different, you and I,” Ana said, her voice no different than a hushed murmur, loud enough for only them to hear. “We may not be of the same class or race, but we’ve experienced terrible loneliness.” As their hands clasped, Ana’s warm, tanned, calloused hands met with Angela’s cool, pale, smooth ones. Angela’s heart fluttered at the contact, neither of them saying anything in the moment, perhaps too wrapped up in the pleasurable contact, much different from sexual endeavours Ana participated in. This was a raw sort of intimacy, one you could only find in books and in paintings, one that couldn’t be found even by the purest of people. And yet Angela and Ana shared this moment, this silent tender moment, without any effort at all. The sparks flew within both of them, giving a warm feeling within Angela’s chest that threatened to spread to the rest of her body. And her mind wrote pages and pages of beautiful scriptures about this feeling, memories she would store within her, like happy memories in green glass bottles. They flicked through the pages, and alas she found the poem that reminded her of this.

Like a river flows surely to the sea  
Darling so it goes  
Some things are meant to be  
Take my hand, take my whole life too  
For I can't help falling in love with you

\----

“Will you be alright?” Ana asked, watching Angela get comfortable in Lena’s old bed. The blonde fidgeted for a moment, smoothing down the covers as she slipped underneath, wriggling and squirming under the sheets. Restlessly, she put her head on the pillow, looking up and the ceiling.  
“I think I’ll be alright. But you know you didn’t have to move my room up to here,” Angela said, giving a rather helpless look. “I was fine downstairs.”  
“It’d be rather cruel if I let you have dinner with us but I still kept you downstairs for the night,” Ana chuckled, her hand brushing over the smooth material of the blanket, before across Angela’s outstretched legs, enough to make the blonde huff and avoid letting out her giggles. “So you’re on the same floor as us now. My room is just opposite yours, in case there’s something you need help with or… an emergency…” she finished, moving her hand back and scratching her head. She didn’t mean for it to sound that suggestive, but it had just come out that way. Angela certainly didn’t seem to notice.

The blonde nodded wordlessly, and Ana swallowed, heading towards the door. “Goodnight,” she said aloud into the quiet room, and was pleasantly surprised to hear Angela call back a meek “goodnight,” before Ana quickly left the room. It was rather late in the night, (or early in the morning, if she was being completely honest with herself) and not a single sound resonated through the ship. If she stood completely still, she could hear the waves outside and feel the ship tilt with every movement. She quickly headed to her room, fumbling with the lock for a few moments, then pushing open the door.

Ashe was sitting atop her bed, one leg over the other the other. She had an arched eyebrow raised as Ana herself raised her own eyebrows. “The hell are you doing here?” she asked, intently watching as Ashe took off her hat and placed it on the bed.  
“I could ask what you aren’t doing here. You’re up mighty late for a person with important duties to attend to tomorrow,” she retorted. “Somethin’ you wanna tell me?” Ana looked at her for a moment, before she sighed, throwing her coat over at Ashe.  
“What is there to say? I’m just helping her adjust is all. It’s manners.”

Ashe looked as if she didn’t believe her. She leaned back, hands behind her head, her eyebrows raised. “Naw. I think you fancy her, don’t you? I mean, you’ve been canoodling until the late hours of the night; I don’t think it’s just ‘helping her to adjust.’”  
Ana turned around, looking positively appalled. “Canoodling! We haven’t been canoodling! We’ve been getting to know each other! Canoodling is not the word I’d use for it!” She unbuttoned her shirt by a few buttons and revealed a tanned collarbone. Her hair was slightly disheveled as she ran her fingers through it in a poor attempt to neaten herself up. She undid her belt, pulling off her trousers as Ashe covered her eyes playfully.  
“I bet she’s stolen your heart with her knowledge and beauty, right?” the American asked, her grin growing three sizes. “Always knew you had a soft spot for the smart ones. Just admit it, you’ve fallen for her. I’m just saying what we’re all thinking.”

Ana turned around, her shirt half falling off her shoulder. “What? The whole ship thinks that?” she asked, slight panic in her voice. Ashe guffawed, removing her hand from her eyes.  
“I mean, it’s pretty obvious. You look at her like she’s a pot of liquid gold, and who can blame you? Shame she’s rather weird,” she said dismissively, watching as Ana headed towards her drawer and picked up her brush.  
“She’s not weird,” Ana said sternly, before stopping, cursing herself for sounding so defensive. “She’s incredibly smart and entertaining.”  
“Incredibly smart and entertaining,” Ashe mimicked, her laughter dissolving into snorts. “Tell it to me straight. Do you like her?”

Raking her brush through her hair, Ana stopped when Ashe asked her the question. Did she? Was Angela just being friendly? Was she coming on too strong? Perhaps she had misread the feelings in the room.

Or perhaps she had read them perfectly.

“I…” Ana let out a breath and put her brush back down, rubbing at her temples. “I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t like her--”  
“So you do?”  
“I-I think so. She’s...different to the other women I’ve proposed to. They were just beautiful, but she...she’s much more than a pretty face.” Ana turned around to Ashe, who had sat back up and watched excitedly. “I...I think I love her.”  
Ashe’s smile grew bigger as she squealed, loud enough for the captain to quickly shush her with a swat. “You love her? Like, completely?”  
Ana looked nervous. “At least, I think so. Whenever I speak to her, I feel this rush of warmth,” she managed to say, “and it is rather addicting.” She let out a sigh, then sat down next to Ashe on the bed. “But she’s a married woman, and my efforts will be in vain. As if they aren’t always,” she let out a chuckle, though it was tinged with sadness.

Ashe frowned, picking her hat up and putting it back on. “She’s different. I know she won’t break your heart. If anything, she reciprocates your actions.” The American got up, her hands on her hips as she furrowed her brow. “And you, captain, have to tell her. But not in the form of words! No no no, you must do it in actions.”  
Ana raised her perfectly arched brows. “You know we cannot make love so soon, Ashe.”  
“I didn’t mean that! I meant that you have to make your relationship with her strengthen. Then it can be guaranteed that she will have some semblance of friendliness toward you.” Ashe tapped her chin, not unlike the statue of the Thinker. “Perhaps do something for her.”  
Again the brows went up. The Egyptian seemed amused. “Like?”

The American snapped her fingers suddenly. “Small things. Ask how she is. Be polite. Smile. Make breakfast. Include her in conversations. Buy her things, but not always, because then it’ll be expected. Subtle signs will let her know that you’re interested in her. Then she’s likely to reciprocate with kindness.”  
Ana sat up straight, her arms folded. “Is there not the issue of me technically being her kidnapper that will stand in the way of this?” Ashe gave a light-hearted shrug.  
“If you ask me, captain, compared to the first time we saw her, she’s not been looking so peaky. Perhaps the fresh sea air and your company eased her. Never really liked her husband much anyway. Maybe she didn’t either.”

“And he will get what’s coming to him, in all due time. Tomorrow we will arrive in India, and I’ll find his men. I’ve got a friend who travels across the continents, and she can send a message to him. We must find him in Italy after all; a covert mission, somewhere where no one will recognise us,” Ana said quietly, her voice hushed, before returning back to normal. “But for now, we sleep. We all must get our rest for the big day ahead.”

Ashe blinked, pulling out her pocket watch from her breast pocket. “It’s mighty late,” was all she said for a moment, the brass cover snapping back shut. “Time for me to catch some sleep, and for you too.” She headed towards the door, her footsteps quieter. Ashe turned her head back to Ana, who gave a slight nod. The American tipped her hat, her grin appearing. “G’night captain.”

Ana grinned back. “Goodnight, Ashe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter took longer to come out. Do I have an excuse? Not really. But thanks for readin' chapter five! Leave some constructive criticism. And comments. Please.


	6. Don't Leave The Party Dying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fall in love and kill some dudes and you've created so many problems for yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God this took long, no? Glad to be back.

Inspired by <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbQgXeY_zi4>

The knife slipped and sliced her skin open. It hit the floor with a clink. Ana hissed, gritting her teeth and quickly pressing her hand to the wound, tightly gripping her skin until her knuckles turned white. She tilted her head back and let out a shaky breath, her blood rushing out of the cut and staining her hand a brilliant scarlet. She pushed back the stinging feeling and looked up, the morning sky a drizzly grey. Silence; nothing but the sound of the ship’s wheel creaking and waves lapping at the sides of Poseidon’s Daughter.

Lena did not so much look back at Ana as she did grimace. “That’s a nasty cut, Captain. I think we’ve got some strong alcohol for that. You’ll have to ask Amelie.”

“I’ll be fine,” Ana replied, her voice as firm as her grip on her forearm.“I’ve been through worse. Steer us into that dock there, Oxton,” she added soon after, gesturing to an empty space among similarly sized ships. A man sat near the docks, his features not hinting towards being Indian, and he stood when he saw the ship approach. “

Good morning,” he called out, his voice not hinting at Asian descent either. Lena gave a wave as she steered smoothly into the dock, Ana moving over to the side to haul down the anchor and drop it on the dock, the man moving to wrap the rope around the cleat. The captain leaned over, studying the man slightly, before her face lit up in surprise. “Gabriel Reyes, is that you?” she asked, and the man lifted his head, his eyes widening slightly. He pressed his hand to his forehead and emitted a low groan.

“Oh god, I didn’t even recognise you, Amari,” Gabriel managed to sigh, but it certainly didn’t sound bad natured. Lena moved to unclasp the ramp from the side of the boat, twisting the knob until a pathway from the boat to the dock had been created. Ana headed down the ramp quickly, heading towards her friend with a grin on her face. She gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek, before pulling away.

“Fancy meeting you here, Gabriel. You given up your life of crime?” she asked, her mouth upturning at the corners. The man narrowed his eyes and grunted, folding his arms.

“Yes, actually, I have. Jackie--Jack said he wanted to settle down somewhere and stop sailing around the world. Maybe it was a little much on him.” Gabriel smiled though, a rarity. “So we decided to get other jobs, sell the ship, and live not too far from here. We got a dog. Beats living on a ship if you ask me.”

“Are you trying to convince me to give up my career?” Ana asked, her smirk growing. “Sorry, I’ve worked my whole life for this ship, and I won’t give it up for just anyone.”

Gabriel huffed a small chuckle. “Yes, but you’d give it up for any number of the girls you’ve tried to propose to.”

Ana laughed heartily, before wagging her finger. “Not anymore. I’m trying to focus my efforts on just one woman.” The tanned man hummed in interest, as if this was a first.

“Must be a very special lady for you to want to pursue a relationship. The last time you tried to do that, you were shot down.”

Ana ran her fingers through his scruff of a beard. “Not everyone can find their soulmate as quickly as you, Romeo. How’s Jack doing?”

“He’s doing alright. He’s decided to take up being a fisherman instead of a pirate. I guess a change of pace was really all he needed.”

Ana hummed, before reaching into her breast pocket and pulling out her pouch of coins. She opened it, and looked up. “Anyway, how much is it to stow here for a few days?”

Gabriel stroked his chin thoughtfully. “It's usually maybe seventy pieces of silver, but I can do sixty for you since we’re friends.”

Ana frowned. “Not fifty?”

“I said sixty.”

The captain groaned, before placing the pouch in his hand. “You better make this up to me, Reyes,” Ana grunted, before she turned back to Lena, who had been waiting patiently. “What time is it?”

“6am, captain. Ashe is probably awake, but the rest of them won’t be for another hour or so,” she replied, moving back onto the deck and calling out: “Can I go back to sleep, captain?”

Ana waved her away, the Brit’s grin growing as she bounded back inside with a spring in her step. The Egyptian turned back to Gabriel. “Well, they’re all asleep. They do a lot for me, it’d be unfair if I kept them up all night.” The man scoffed.

“You sure do have a habit of keeping women up all night.”

Ana swatted at his arm, coaxing a laugh from Gabriel as he threw his head back and cackled. “Shut up,” she hissed, but her grin grew. She headed back up the ramp, her thoughts already full of a certain woman she was going to see. Ana turned her head and sighed. “Look, I’ll come visit you tomorrow or something. I’ve got something important tonight and I can’t miss it. Besides, I’ll tell you more about my love life when Jack’s around. You know how he likes to gossip.” Gabriel chuckled as he moved to lift her ramp back up.

“He sure does. But I’ll see you around soon, Amari. Maybe we could get a drink together. For old time’s sake.” Ana smiled.

“Yeah. We could.” She waved at him, before she headed back inside, already thinking about a certain blonde-haired woman. Bounding down the stairs, she quickly headed to the door to Lena’s old room, stopping outside it. She knocked loud enough for Angela to hear, before she opened the door and poked her head through.

Angela was sitting atop the bed, her head buried in a book, only the top of her blonde hair visible. She lifted her head up and a smile appeared on her innocent face. “Good morning,” she said happily, folding the corner of the page she was on and closing the book. “I woke up early but I didn’t know if I was allowed to get up and leave.” Ana came in, shutting the door behind her.

“Of course you can leave. Just don’t, like, actually get off the ship. I think that’s your only rule.”

“That’s an easy rule to follow,” Angela said off handedly, before she looked up, her eyes glittering in the low light. “How was your sleep?”

Ana hummed. “Not as bad as a few days ago. And yours?”

“It was nice. I slept soundly for the first time in years.”

“You don’t sleep well when you’re in bed with your husband?” the captain asked.

Angela’s face tinged red. “No, I--I rather dislike sleeping with him.”

“Oh.”

There was a silence that settled over them, Ana exhaling as she scratched her head. “So, uh, would you care for breakfast? It’s a little early, yes, but I was thinking we could make something together. I’ve got some fine wine that would go well with good company,” she offered, trying her hardest to act smooth. Usually it wasn’t a problem but around Angela, Ana felt more than a little shabby. Moving to sit next to her, the captain smoothed down her trousers. She decided against wearing her jacket today, and opted for a casual shirt that showed off a generous amount of her collarbone. She had rolled up her sleeves to the elbows after accidentally cutting her arm an hour back. Angela looked over at her arms, the subtle curve of her muscle contained within her shirt. She wondered what her stomach would look like.

“Of course I’d like to have breakfast with you,” Angela managed to respond, her eyes moving up to the curve of Ana’s shirt as it fit snugly around her chest. Her eyes wandered to the captain’s tanned collarbone, and she bit her lip, looking away. “I’m sure it’ll be great fun,” she quickly added onto her sentence. Ana raised her brows, a smile growing on her face.

“Fun, definitely.” She studied her for a moment, watching her blush grow.

“What?” Angela asked defensively, not about to be caught out.

“Oh, nothing,” Ana murmured, standing up and brushing off the non-existent dirt on her shoulders. She held out her hand and grinned, Angela taking it warily and getting pulled up to her feet. “I suppose you weren’t doing what I thought you did.”

Angela’s face reddened even further, and Ana couldn’t help but let out a slight chuckle. “You know I’m only jesting.” The captain stopped talking when she noticed Angela was silent. A pit grew in the bottom of her stomach. “Hey, uh, I didn’t go too far, did I?” Angela shook her head and let out a sigh. “No. It’s me, I--I shouldn’t be getting too close to you. It’s bad for my image. If people saw me with you, what would they think? Aside from the fact that you’re a woman, you’re much different to royalty. It’s selfish of me to...entertain you like this.”

“Entertain?” Ana asked, her hands moving to hold Angela’s face. Angela looked up, the coldness of her rings startling her. “You’re not ‘entertaining’ me at all. You’re… a friend, if that’s what you want to be. I enjoy your company. Much more than I should, in fact, but whilst you’re in my company, you’re prioritised much higher than anyone else. We can go slowly with whatever _this_ is, if you even wish to pursue it, or we can stop entirely. It...it really is your choice, Angela.”

Ana’s thumb stroked her cheekbone, their eyes meeting, and suddenly there was that spark again. It lit up Ana’s stomach like a pool of gasoline, the flames flickering all the way to her throat and trying to worm out. For Angela, however, the flames didn’t come out of her mouth, for they threatened to burst out of the pads of her fingers instead. The princess moved her hands up to Ana’s face, her fingertips stroking the side of her face. Her lips parted but she spoke no words, Ana instead sliding her hands back down to Angela’s waist. Silence, before Angela stood on her tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss atop sweet caramel lips, and Ana was sure the fire in her stomach would burn so bright that she’d say something that’d embarrass her in this situation. Although the contact lasted for only a second, Angela’s cheeks were decorated with a beautiful shade of pink. She watched the bewildered look on Ana’s face and huffed a small laugh.

“I would like to pursue this and see where it goes, captain,” Angela murmured, her hands still stroking smooth tanned skin, and Ana snapped out of her daze. She blinked, then once more, shaking her head to try and wake up from this dream that seemed almost too good to be true.

“Really?” Ana asked, trying not to keep her hopes up. There was always the chance that she’d get shot down afterwards. Angela nodded, and closed the gap between them, her fingers brushing against the lips she had just kissed.

“Really,” the blonde replied, and Ana could barely contain herself. She kissed the princess’ forehead, staining it with a mahogany kiss. 

“Then we shall see where this path leads us, Your Highness,” Ana murmured, taking the princess’ hand in her own.

The blonde smiled as she entwined their fingers. “Call me Angela.”

\----

“And then I told him, _“if you can’t keep your hands to yourself, you don’t deserve to have them!”_ and I chopped his hand clean off.”

“Sounds dangerous! How were you not scared?”

Ana cocked a lopsided grin as she crossed her legs. “Oh, I’m never afraid. I laugh in the face of danger.” She leaned forward and took Angela’s hands in her own, kissing them gently. “But I am more bold in love than in jeopardy. Especially when I am around those who make me feel that way.” Another soft kiss to her knuckles.

Angela’s face turned pink, and she let out a girlish giggle, smiling cutely. “Oh, you really do flatter me, captain. So much so that I feel as if I’m starting to inherit your confidence.”

Ana laughed broadly, her voice husky and rough, but with a tenderness that only Angela could coax out. “Oh you’ve always had confidence. I think it just took a little bit of time for you to show it. I’d dare say you’re more confident than I am.”

“Nonsense,” Angela shook her head, “I’d never have the courage to fight all these bad people like you have. I’m much too scared, no no.”

Ana leaned forward onto her hands and knees. “You say that but I know you’d fight for what’s right.” She sat back on her behind. “Besides, I have enough bravery for both of us,” she grinned cockily. The blonde huffed, before moving to grasp Ana’s hands.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t brave.” She moved Ana’s hands to her lips and kissed them gently, looking Ana straight in the eyes. “See?”

The captain grinned as she moved her hand up, stroking Angela’s cheek. “Indeed, very bold, it seems. But I can be much bolder,” she murmured, leaning forward to capture Angela’s lips in a light kiss.

“Charmer,” the blonde cursed quietly, albeit a grin on her face. She moved her hands back comfortably onto Ana’s thighs. “But I suppose that comes with being a pirate, no? Along with the ‘arrrr’ and the ‘yo ho ho’ and the eyepatch you must have in your drawer,” she teased.

Ana narrowed her eyes and frowned. “That’s stereotyping us,” she muttered, “and we don’t say those things. That’s like if I said that you love yodelling and you only eat fondue.”

“You got me,” Angela sighed, lifting her hands in the air, “but it’s so interesting to hear about your day-to-day life. I feel like it’s a whole world being kept hidden away from me.”

“I’d rather much ask about how life is when you’re incredibly rich. Do you splash out on fancy dresses every week? A new bottle of wine every day?” Ana teased back, a handsome grin forming. Angela swatted her arm and pouted.

“It’s boring. It’s always boring. People have to ask me for permission to go to the bathroom! It’s ridiculous!” she said exasperated. “I want to be a proper ruler, but I can’t do that when my husband is around. He just...it’s like he treats me as if I’m part of his company, not his wife.”

There was a silence that hung in the air. Ana frowned. “That’s not right at all,” she said after a while. “You’re not his arm candy for him to take no notice of you. I know he just married you to gain inheritance of Switzerland and your father’s fortune, but you’re legally bound. He has to know that you’re your own woman,” she murmured, taking her hands in her own. Her thumbs brushed along Angela’s cold skin and the captain sighed. “You could accomplish such amazing things, you know. But it seems the world isn’t quite ready for women to become independent as of yet.”

Angela looked up. “But you’ve accomplished so much. I’ve heard tales of you. How you defeated the leader of the Spanish mafia with a bullet in your shoulder. How you pillaged a British slave ship and set many people free. How you ransacked a ship heading towards Thailand and fed your entire town. You may be a woman, but you’ve done a lot for your family.” Her eyes shone with admiration as Ana let out an unsteady chuckle.

“I’ll admit, those are all true, but they’ve definitely been exaggerated to some extent. Whether I’m male or female doesn’t affect what I do and how I treat others around me. You still deserve respect. Hell, even more than I do. At least you’re not a criminal.”

Angela said nothing when Ana got up and headed towards the closet, standing in front of the full-length mirror and studying herself. “What are you doing?” the blonde asked, before her cheeks flushed bright red when Ana started undressing.

“Just remembered that I have somewhere to be in an hour or so. I have to get dressed. Rather expensive place,” Ana called back, opening her closet and pulling out freshly-ironed pants. She slipped them on and sighed, before shuffling through more piles of clothes.

“Where are you going?” the blonde asked, brushing her fringe from her eyes, unable to stop staring.

“A strip club.”

“What?!”

“I’m meeting a friend there,” Ana said again, pulling out a crisp white linen shirt with balloon sleeves. She shrugged it on, buttoning it midway past her collarbone, admiring herself in the mirror for a moment before turning back around to the bed.

“What are you doing?” Angela asked once more as Ana got on her knees and reached under the bed. She pulled out a pair of stunning brown leather boots, complete with a polished brass buckle and a sturdy 5 inch heel block. She sat back on the bed, slipping the boots on with ease whilst Angela watched. “This is rather formal wear for a strip club,” she said offhandedly. Ana laughed.

“The one I’m going to is only for the richest of people,” she replied, a grin on her face as she walked around in her shoes. “Glad they still fit.” She walked over to the drawers and pulled it open, a glistening pistol greeting her. She slid it into her pants pocket, Angela’s brow furrowed. “You don’t need a gun to meet friends.”

Ana turned around and smiled. “Observative, aren’t you? Like my little sister. She always used to ask where I was going in the middle of the night. Always afraid I’d leave and never come back.” She headed towards Angela and leaned forward, mouth to ear. “Don’t tell the others I’m gone. I know it’s late, so I don’t want them to worry.” She moved back. “You can sleep here tonight if you’d like. Oh, a candle. Would you like a candle here to help you sleep? It gets pretty dark when it’s night. Or a lantern. I could find a lantern for yo--”

“I’m fine,” Angela responded, moving to wrap herself in Ana’s blanket, only her face visible. 

The captain smiled fondly, leaning forward to kiss Angela’s forehead. “I promise I won’t be gone long,” she murmured against her skin, pressing another quick kiss to her cheek, before she left the room, the tapping of her boots reverberating across the ship until Angela could no longer hear her.

\----

The alleyway was lit up with lanterns hung outside no longer open stores. It provided a dull glow so Ana could see where she was going, although there really was no need. She had come here many times before; a lawless land, where all crime was legal and no police dared venture, lest they risked their life. She doubted she’d come again after this.

Ana walked quietly down the maze of avenues, the light scent of food coming from a nearby street vendor. Perhaps she’d buy herself a celebratory kofta afterwards. She vaulted herself over the fence of a nearby building, and picked up the pace, turning towards a building at the end of the alleyway. A tall man, dark skin and unforgiving eyes, stood in front of the entrance. Sniffing at her, he held out his hand reluctantly, and Ana slipped a few banknotes into his palm. He looked down at them.

“These aren’t rupees,” he grunted, his voice hinting at deep African heritage, “these are Egyptian pounds.” He looked back up at her face, his eyes narrowing. “You are not from here.” He studied her face once more. “You’re Amari, aren’t you?”

“Doesn’t matter if I’m Amari or not, what matters is that you let me in. I’ve paid and I’m not violating any law at the moment,” Ana replied sternly. The man narrowed his eyes again and reluctantly closed his hand, putting the money into his pocket. He opened the door behind him and frowned, moving to the side to let Ana through. She edged past him, and the door gave an ominous slam behind her, making her shake. She continued walking down the corridor, nothing but the sound of her footsteps echoing around her. She could faintly hear music coming from the door far ahead, perhaps being played by a jukebox. They sure had upgraded from a live band. She moved faster, stopping at the double doors to compose herself, neatening her shirt and hair, before opening the doors wide with unmatched confidence.

In the centre of the room was a round raised platform with steps leading to the floor. A tall pole stood in the middle. Around the platform were tables, rearranged so that the dancer could easily step on from one to the other without difficulty. Young Japanese sat at the tables, their eyes stuck on the swaying woman on the platform, her curves even enticing a glance from Ana. In the corner of the room was the jukebox, emanating slow jazz. Ana liked jazz.

She took a seat at an empty table in the furthest part of the room, watching the dancer with half-interest. The woman was tall, long shapely legs making up most of her figure, with rich dark skin that glistened in the low light. Her black hair was open behind her, her hands running up and down her skin enticingly. She glanced over at Ana, and her eyes widened when Ana gave a little wave. The captain chuckled, before turning her attention to the waitress heading towards her, placing a shot of rum on the table. Ana nodded her head as a means of thanks, before she took the glass in her hand, downing the shot quickly. The fiery alcohol scalded her throat and made her head spin, although not without a honey aftertaste. 

She smiled. Leaning forward, her attention was taken from the woman on the stage to a young Japanese man, his eyes narrowing at her. She raised her brows, watching the man with interest before he noticed she was looking and quickly looked away. The captain laughed, loud enough for him to hear. Of course, she knew exactly who these men worked for. A shame Genji wasn’t keeping a close enough eye on them.

He may come to regret that.

Ana’s eyes were focused on the woman dancing, scrolling up and down her figure appreciatively as the minutes ticked by. The waitress had given her at least six shots by now before deciding to go home, her shift having ended. The whiskey went straight to Ana’s head; she felt more than a little tipsy, she noted as she downed her seventh. Her stomach churned in protest whilst she tried to compose herself, chuckling as she did so. Ana sat up, her elbow on the table as she watched the dancer move rhythmically to the sensual jazz, making eye contact once more. 

The dancer frowned as Ana laughed loudly, gaining the attention of some of the Japanese men. They murmured amongst themselves, now looking at the captain with slight interest, their eyes never leaving her. Ana did not once break eye contact. The men spoke aloud this time, shocked and in Japanese, before one man stood up and aimed a flintlock pistol at her. “Amari!” was the only distinguishable word Ana heard him say before she ducked. However, before his finger pulled the trigger, the dancer turned around in one clean motion and stabbed her six inch heel into his eye.

He was dead before he hit the ground.

The man stared at the woman before them, one of them running towards Ana and the other trying to tackle the dancer to the ground. Ana pulled out her pistol and got up, shooting him twice in the stomach. Blood erupted from his wound as he staggered back, coughing up a notable amount of bile.

The dancer, on the other hand, was trying extremely hard to keep the men on top of her from driving a dagger into her face. Ana rushed over and threw one of the men off of her, currently trying to get the second as well. One of them lunged for her leg, and she fell, hitting her head onto the floor with tremendous force. If she wasn’t already dizzy then she was now.

She got up, and the man pinned her to the ground, gritting his teeth and trying to slide his knife across her throat. He only managed a graze. Ana, however, was having a very hard time trying to keep his dagger away. Hands clammy, she pushed him off, scrabbling for her pistol and trying to stay alert, her head throbbing. She shot him in the ankle, delicate white bone shattering and splintering his flesh like a knife through butter. He screamed in agony, but not for long until Ana put another bullet in him. He died with a scream on his face. She turned her attention to the other woman, who was currently pummeling the man underneath her, her hands gripped tightly around his throat. Ana crouched next to him, pointed her gun against his temple and smiled as the dancer let go. He gasped for air, holding his throat protectively. “Hey there,” the captain said, almost patronising. A kindly smile. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to work for the Shimada clan, right?” she asked, like a teacher trying to coax a naughty child into behaving. “Specifically under Genji Shimada’s rule?” The man looked between the two women, before slowly nodding, swallowing as to try to ease his dry throat.

“And would you happen to know where Genji is at the moment? Surely he must have told you,” she asked, stroking the side of his face with the barrel of the gun.

He audibly gulped. “I-Italy, ma’am. S-Siracusa. He’s looking for you, m-ma’am. I don’t know anything else, I swear, w-we were just paid to spread out across Asia and f-find you!” He shook his head quickly, inching closer and closer to the wall as Ana pressed the gun against his temple painfully, his eyes darting toward the barrel.

“Thank you sir,” Ana smiled, before she pulled the trigger, the shot ringing in her ears. She didn’t look directly at the body, instead choosing to stand up and sigh, running her fingers through her hair. Then she took notice of the dancer beside her. She gave a cocky grin and let go of her gun, throwing it onto a nearby table.

“Satya, so good to see you,” Ana smirked, outstretching her hand in the manner of a firm but friendly handshake. Satya looked down at Ana’s hand and shook it hastily, quickly wiping her hand on her leg. She narrowed her eyes at the captain and stood.

“If you’ve come to book a session, you’ll have to come back tomorrow. I have a client in an hour,” she said sharply, giving a spiteful look.

The Egyptian chuckled smoothly. “What, I can’t even visit a friend without me not booking a session?”

“All your ‘visits’ end up in someone dying,” Satya spat, but less harsh this time. She stepped over a body and frowned, folding her arms. “But I am serious. What are you doing here?”

Ana sighed, moving to sit on a table. “Promise you won’t be angry?”

“No.”

“Fair enough. I kidnapped the Princess of Switzerland.”

Satya’s eyes widened as she fisted her hair, pupils dilating. “You--you idiot! Do you know whose wife that is?”

“Genji Shimada, yes, I know. It-it’s stupid, really, but they knew it was me and they’re trying to find me as quickly as possible. I think they calculated that I’d have to stop here for a bit and they stationed around as near as possible.” She crossed her legs and laughed, almost sadly. “And that’s not even the worst part.”

Satya’s perfect eyebrows arched. “Then what is?”

She looked up at the Indian woman with a besotted smile, though more drunk if she was honest. “I’m completely enamoured with her.”

Satya doubled over and choked, resting her hand on the table to support herself. She brushed the hair from her eyes and violently slapped Ana’s knee, causing the captain to jump. “God I knew you were stupid but this! This is off the charts!” Satya shouted, then hissed, narrowing her eyes, “A married woman! Royalty no less! She’s of a different caste and her husband owns the Japanese mafia! You’ll be killed, Ana! You absolute imbecile!”

“I know!” Ana slurred slightly, letting out a desperate sigh and rubbing her temples. “I know, I’m stupid for ever letting my guard down and making her feel welcome, but I can’t help it. I love her, Satya, I really do. And I know she’s married, but something about her draws me in. Maybe it’s her intellect or her looks, but she’s...by God, she’s amazing, Satya.”

A silence. Satya blinked. “You...you mean it this time? It’s more serious than the times with the other women?” Ana nodded, and the dancer moved to hug her, if only for a second. “I’m very happy for you, but you’re still very stupid for trying to pursue this.” She stepped back and frowned, nudging a bleeding body with her pointed heel. “Anyway, since Genji’s men were here, I suppose you’re wondering if I knew anything about them.”

Ana nodded again, folding her arms and tilting her head as Satya spoke on. “I did hear from one of the men that Genji is most likely going through this much effort to maintain his image to the princess’ parents and inherit her land. Of course, he has to uphold a certain stigma to him. If he can’t keep a pirate in check, how can he control Japan?”

The captain got off the table, smoothing out her blood-splattered shirt. “It’s going to take a lot more than three men for me to give up Angela. A lot more.” She glanced over at Satya and smiled. “Thank you though. Anything else? Do you know where they’ll be next?”

The dancer frowned, humming in thought. “Perhaps through the Middle East; it would take too long to get to Italy on foot. They may stop in Egypt. You have to be careful.”

Ana blinked in surprise, though rather slowly since the alcohol was taking a bit of a toll on her reaction speed. “They better not stop in Egypt. My sister and mother won’t be safe.”

Satya’s hand moved to rub Ana’s arm, a kind, patient smile forming. “They won’t reach Egypt for that long. You have a day or so to relax and get your things together. Or perhaps to run since you’ve made a mess of this. I’m surprised you’re not banned from here yet,” she added dryly, gesturing to the mess, “but Akande outside will clean it up.”

“You can’t ban me, we’re friends,” Ana laughed, deep and husky, walking toward the bar and leaning over. She reached out for a bottle of whiskey, pulling the cork off with her teeth and smiling lazily, taking eager glugs.

Satya frowned. “You know you can’t just drink merchandise like that. Even if we are acquaintances.”

“Friends,” Ana corrected with a toothy grin, moving to sit on the bar, head tipped slightly, “and I can always pay you back. Ain’t got nowhere to be at this time of the night. And it’s been a long time since I’ve had some good quality alcohol to get wasted on.”

Satya sighed, but it came out as more of a huff of laughter. “You know, you sound just like your first mate. Perhaps it _has_ been a very long time since you unwound. I think this Angela is exactly who you need. Someone sophisticated to reel you in when you get rowdy.”

“I’m never rowdy!” Ana retaliated, her body slumping slightly as she tilted her head back, chugging the whiskey as if she was a traveller in a desert desolate of water. The burn in her throat and the ache in her lungs said otherwise. “I’ll have you know I’m very classy. I like a nice woman with my glass of wine, and I like some good piano music and a waltz. Never had the eye for art though. Fancy-schmancy nonsense that rich people pay too much for when they could be feeding the poor,” she added, swilling the high-grade whiskey in her mouth.

“Philistine,” Satya commented off-handedly before raising her brows. “Never thought you liked classical music and waltzing. Aren’t you a jazz or a swing girl? Classical music seems nothing like your style.”

Ana’s eyes widened. “That’s rude,” she slurred, her speech slowing. “I have plenty of different styles. Just a more casual one around you is all.” She put the bottle to her lips again, but didn’t drink; instead she was trying to keep her eyelids from fluttering shut. A misty haze fell over her eyes, and she chugged more, feeling the alcohol slosh in the bottom of her stomach.

“You’re drunk,” Satya said. “Go home.”

“Am not. Ain’t got a home. Got no family.”

“Firstly, we both know that’s a lie; you have a mother and a sister and a decent enough house. Secondly, Poseidon’s Daughter is your home away from home.” “...Fair point. Got no lover though. Not yet.” Another swig as she leaned forward, chuckling lazily. Satya groaned. “Go home, Ana. Before you collapse on the ground and cry.”

“I won’t cry--”

But the alcohol was much too strong for Ana to handle. She swayed a little, and toppled onto the ground, smacking her head onto the floor with slight force. The last thing she remembered before she was induced into a drunken haze was a thickly accented voice saying, “I told you so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos, criticism and comments always appreciated, y'know


	7. Over-Bored And Self-Assured

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is longer than the others, but is filled with so much bullshit??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forgive me. Back after a month of hiatus and whOA baby it's good to be back.

Ana jostled awake in someone’s arms. They were moving, it seemed. She couldn’t help but pry open her eyes, but her vision was still just a haze of colours and shapes. She really shouldn’t have drank that much. She looked back up, to the hazy figure that seemed to be carrying her, then swallowed, her dry throat throbbing. “Who’s this?” she asked weakly, and the figure did not stop, but looked down at her. Or at least she thought they did.

“Can’t you recognise me?” the voice asked, tinged with laughter, and Ana grinned, rubbing her eyes in a poor attempt to sober herself up.  
“Why are you here, Gabriel? Trying to have a nice quiet night away from Jack at the strip club?” she teased, and he flicked her forehead.  
“No, actually. Satya sent for me. She said you’d passed out and that she wasn’t going to make Akande’s life harder by telling him to drop you off back at Poseidon’s Daughter,” he said, and Ana nodded, but she kicked her legs and grunted.  
“I get that you’re trying to be helpful, but I can walk by myself. People might get the wrong idea,” she said firmly, and Gabriel shook his head.  
“You’re still not sober Ana. If I let you walk by yourself, you’d be tripping up over your feet.”

“Would not,” Ana protested, but she closed her mouth and tried to make sense of the haziness in front of her. It was starting to show some semblance but her vision still swirled, like the contents of her stomach. She sucked in a breath. “I think I’m going to throw up,” she whispered, just loud enough for for Gabriel to hear, and he put her down immediately, grimacing as she staggered off to the side of the road. “I’d have never forgave you if you were sick on me,” Gabriel said awkwardly as Ana knelt over and ejected the contents of her stomach on the pavement. He walked over and lifted her hair up as she retched and coughed and gagged, before standing upright and wiping her mouth.

“Better?” he asked gently, and Ana nodded, seeming a lot more aware of her surroundings.  
“I needed that,” she responded, before she started to walk back down the road as if nothing happened, the sounds of both their footsteps echoing against the cobblestone.  
“Told you not to drink too much,” Gabriel tutted, but they walked on, casual conversation filling the silence here and there, until the conversation turned towards Jack.

“How is it with you two? Is it nice being settled down?” Ana asked, and Gabriel let out a huff, presumably of laughter.  
“Of course it is,” Gabriel said as if it were obvious. He scratched his head and gave a wonky half-smile. “It’s nice waking up and knowing that you’re with your partner in bed and not in the immediate face of danger.” Ana grimaced, and he laughed. “Look, I know how much you like the thrill of danger, but honestly, owning a house together isn’t so bad.”  
“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Ana scoffed. She couldn’t imagine life without her ship and her crew.  
“Honestly yes, it’s amazing. Imagine this: the person you love most is downstairs at the table, with a spread of fresh wheat pancakes with chopped dates, the finest yoghurt with sticky strawberry jam, figs drizzled with honey, slices of cured chorizo, the thickest, maturest rind cheese money can buy, and a glass of the sweetest damn orange juice you’ve ever had. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”

Ana frowned, her brow furrowing. It did sound nice. Especially if the person at her table was a beautiful, smart, capable woman that could even out Ana’s fiery personality. “You’re just trying to convince me to sell my boat to you again, aren’t you?” she asked, and Gabriel just shrugged, but a smile besotted his face. He stroked his scruff of a beard and smiled like a wise old man.  
“What would give you that idea?” he replied, but Ana jabbed him in the ribs and folded her arms.  
“I know how envious you are of my ship,” she said with a smug grin, “and I wouldn’t blame you. Poseidon’s Daughter is much faster and larger than yours. What was it called, Luna Flumine? Sounds like something a little girl would name a pony.”  
“Shut up,” Gabriel retorted, walking slightly faster, “it means ‘moon river’, and I didn’t pick it, Jack did.”  
“Sounds pretty gay,” she nodded, and Gabriel rolled his eyes.  
“As if you’re not gay,” he responded, and Ana slapped his arm.

“I served time once in Russia, for ‘non-traditional lifestyles’. Still on the watchlist, I think,” Ana said off-handedly. “And didn’t someone snitch off of you and Jack in Saudi?” Gabriel couldn’t help but grin then.  
“Back in our sailing days, yes. Of course, they had no evidence, but it apparently looked suspicious when the two captains of the ship were seen buying food together. Like a domestic couple, it seemed.” He chuckled, and Ana sighed, raking her fingers through her hair.  
“On behalf of all Arabs, I am sorry,” she grinned, but she didn’t sound it. She buttoned up her top button and murmured something to herself in Arabic. “But surely they would have suspected something from Jesse? For as long as I’ve known him, the only interest he’s had in women is a puppy crush on me.”

“Got imprisoned,” Gabriel said, pulling out a cigar and a box of matches. He held it between his lips as he lit a match, the flame flickering in the dim dark. It illuminated his face as he lit the cigar, puffing out rings of smoke, akin to a fairytale dragon.  
Ana sighed. “I should have known. What for?”  
Gabriel inhaled, the smoke billowing from his flared nostrils. “Trying to smuggle contraband between borders. As you can see, he was unsuccessful. Rather stupid of him to do, since ships are rarely searched and he decided to try and sneak past the border with fifty grams of ganja under his hat.”  
“You couldn’t try to get him off the hook?” asked Ana.  
Gabriel took another drag, wetting his dry lips and shrugging. “Not much we coulda done. He’ll break out soon though. I know it.” Ana couldn’t help but laugh at the fond memories she had of the boy, specifically Jesse once challenging Ashe to a spar and getting his tooth knocked out. A day to remember.

“Enough about that,” Gabriel suddenly said, his mouth curving into a cat-like smirk, making the pit of Ana’s stomach drop, “what’s up with your love life? Into any women? Tried to seduce Marie-Antoinette yet?” A low chuckle rumbled in his throat and erupted out into the air, Ana’s ears tinging red.  
“Don’t pick on me,” she whined, but Gabriel could tell she was bursting with excitement, very eager to talk, “but yes, I think I’m getting it back on track now.”  
“Since you’re this confident, I’m sure you won’t get shot down again,” he laughed. Ana paused. “Sorry, that was mean,” he apologised quickly.  
“Anyway,” Ana carried on, “I think this time it just might work.”  
Gabriel bit his tongue to stop him from saying “you thought it’d work all the other times too, but go on.”  
“She’s very smart. Not just academically, but her opinions are justified, unafraid, bold. She speaks her mind; she’s not afraid of the consequences.”  
“That all?” Gabriel teased, and Ana slapped his arm.  
“I’m not finished!” she hissed. “She’s beautiful, but I’m guessing you already knew that.” Gabriel was about to roll his eyes but she slapped his arm again. “Her face looks like the watercolour paintings in the Bible, Gabe. Dappled amaranth stained cheeks, the most captivating cornflower irises that just gleam the bright sunlight, and her skin, the smoothest, softest skin you’ve ever seen, as soft as the wings of cherubs fluttering above both of her shoulders; she’s too pure for the devil. Gabriel, I’m truly in love this time. My heart rejects any love but hers.”  
“I can tell,” he hummed, taking a puff from his cigar and blowing it out with a satisfied grin, “I don’t even hear you sing those praises for Jesus, let alone a woman you’re in love with.”  
“Jesus is a man, and therefore I could never love him as much as I love her,” Ana said dreamily, and this is behaviour is most unlike Ana. It reminds Gabriel of each and every past love Ana has told him about like a lovesick puppy with its tail between its legs. It feels ridiculous, and certainly turns Ana into the poet she never was, but it’s also amusing to him how a semi-illiterate girl from the countryside of Egypt can spout such graces about a woman she was enamoured with.

It made Gabriel smile.

The sea, perfectly calm, was like a peaceful lake, and its soft murmurs were scarcely audible. The waves seemed to sleep. A line of darker blue marked the curve of the horizon. The wind had become the orchestral conductor of the sea, sending waves into their crescendos' all through the ballad that was the early morning. Black clouds swirled in a tumult of stormy air above, dark waves swirled below, crashing into the side of Ana’s ship. The silver moon was high in the sky giving off the only light, reflected in the inky darkness below as white fireflies that skimmed the surface of the water. 

Ana moved towards her ship, her fingers brushing over the splintering wood. “I think we could go for some upgrades,” she commented, Gabriel standing back and watching her as she lowered the gangplank.  
“Looks like my escort mission is done,” he murmured, putting out his cigar on the side of the boat. Ana fingered the ropes, the fibres coming loose and unraveling. She tutted.  
“We need to repair this boat quickly. I can’t have it in this condition. It’d be embarrassing if I came back home and my ship was a ruin,” she said, biting her lip.  
“Egypt likes you, they won’t care,” Gabriel replied smoothly, throwing his cigar out into the ocean. She frowned.  
“The public, yes, but not the police. They find one thing wrong with my ship, and the whole thing is confiscated for ‘being an unsafe working environment and a hazard to other traders and travellers.’ Bit of a rubbish excuse if you ask me.”

Gabriel’s fingers raked through his beard, watching Ana lift the gangplank up and down, testing the hinges. It squeaked loudly, and Ana winced, putting it back down and scratching her head.  
“Jack and I could come over later and try and help you if you’d like,” Gabriel offered, and Ana turned around almost immediately.  
“What?”  
“I said, I can come round later with Jack and we can help you repair your boat,” he grunted, and Ana hugged him, briefly but tightly, pulling away with a smile.  
“Not like you to offer to be useful,” she said smugly, “but I will gladly accept your offer.”  
“I’ll take back my offer if you’re going to be rude about it,” Gabriel laughed, then let out a quiet sigh. “Been ages since I’ve seen the crew anyway.”

Ana headed up the gangplank, a spring in her step. Turning around to look back at Gabriel, she leaned over the side of the ship and smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, handyman,” she grinned, and Gabriel groaned, turning around to leave, but stopping just short.  
“Goodnight,” he called out quietly, and Ana chuckled, her laughter echoing into the empty harbour.  
“Goodnight,” she called back out fondly, and Gabriel made his way home, hands in his pockets and head hung low.

Ana headed back inside, cursing as she fumbled with the keys for a few minutes, the darkness blinding her. She managed to get the door open, and walked down the steps, still wary of any alcohol lingering in her body. A couple more steps and she arrived at her room door. She opened it quietly, finding Angela laying in her bed, dozing peacefully, the picture of innocence. Slowly, she walked in, taking off her boots and throwing them off to the side. She looked at herself in the mirror: a bloodstain seeping at the bottom of her shirt, her hair dishevelled and knotted, and heavy under eyes. Ana laughed. Weariness finally took a toll on her face. She turned around, watching the sleepy rise and fall of Angela’s chest. In, out, in, out. Rhythmic, almost...peaceful. Quiet words were murmured in Arabic, perhaps a good night, perhaps a sonnet of how beautiful she looked, but it didn’t seem to matter. 

She couldn’t sleep in the same bed as Angela, and she certainly wasn’t going to kick her out either, so she settled for laying upon the hard wooden floor, looking up at the lantern hanging from the ceiling. The light flickered, and Ana moved her hands behind her head, finding it much more comfortable than she thought. Her lower body was freezing, but she didn’t seem to mind much. A thought of how comfortable Angela was was enough to lift her spirits. Her eyes focused on the swaying lantern, its dull yellow glow reminding Ana of the Egyptian sun above her head when she was younger. 

She shut her eyes, and pretended she was reliving those moments.

\-----

Angela awoke peacefully, a far cry different than waking to her husband shouting at the top of his lungs to a poor servant who had mixed up his breakfast order. The lulling sway of the ship tried to ease her back into slumber, but she would not have it. She stood, blood rushing back to her feet as she tried to blink away the sleepiness. It felt rather early in the morning, judging by the silence onboard the ship, but it wouldn’t hurt to go on deck and see. She then noticed Ana spread-eagled on the floor. Guilt panged in her chest as Angela picked up the blanket, tottering over to place it over her. Leaning over, she spread the blanket out, making sure to cover her fully, before pausing. Her hand brushed against Ana’s forehead. At least she hadn’t caught a cold.

Angela left, her bare feet padding against the cold floorboards as she made her way upstairs. Each step creaked under her weight, threatening to give her away, but she carried on, finally reaching the door to the upper deck. She took a step outside, the cool air hitting her face and making her bones shiver. The yellow shining sun started rising from the horizon. It filled the sky with mighty colours of red and splashed the clouds with endless rays of pink. She was cast in a bath of coral, the colour tinting her hair and radiating brilliantly.

Angela teetered over to the table. She picked up the shawl, hung on one of the chairs, and wrapped it around her, instantly savouring its warmth. She headed towards the kitchen, the brushing of her nightdress against the floor the only sound on the entire ship.  
The kitchen was a complete mess. Ana may have taken pride in her ship, but this was embarrassing. Angela tutted as she readjusted the brown paper bags, picking up any spilled fruit from the floor. She stepped in a pool of milk and cursed, her feet now uncomfortably wet. She reached over for the mop propped against the door, setting to work cleaning the floor, leaving streaks of water on the slippery tiles. Then she got to work cleaning the surfaces, flour and sugar split carelessly everywhere. She scooped up the excess sugar into her hands and dumped it in the bin. Angela frowned as she brushed her hands against her dress, wiping away anything that was stuck on it. The lantern in the corner was still lit, so she opened the small glass door and blew the candle out, handing it back up on the ceiling. 

As she turned around, her foot slipped, the water and tile not making a very safe combination. She fell to the ground with an almighty thud, rattling the shelves on the walls. A jar precariously wobbled, and Angela looked up, praying that it wouldn’t fall.  
It did, and with a great crash too, spilling salt everywhere. A moment of silence, before footsteps echoed from within the ship, Angela murmuring the filthiest curses she knew as she tried to get up but to no avail. The door opened, and there Ana stood, a gleaming knife in hand. They both blinked in surprise. “I thought you were an intruder!” exclaimed the captain, quickly moving to help Angela up. What were you doing awake this early?”  
“I wanted a cup of tea,” Angela said weakly, brushing the salt off of her dress. Ana knelt to pick up the glass shards, throwing them into the bin and getting back up, reaching for the mop.  
“By the looks of it, you did some cleaning up too,” she said, mopping the floor as Angela stood meekly like a child awaiting punishment. Floor clean, Ana put the mop away, sliding her knife into her belt and sighing. “Seeing as I’m awake now, what about we both have a cup of tea and something to eat before breakfast? I think we have some currant cake somewhere,” the captain murmured, kneeling. She opened a cupboard, pulling out fine china plates, a far cry different to the others. They had chipped edges and slight cracks, but they were in better condition than anything else.

“Are these plates reserved for special guests?” Angela asked jokingly, taking them out of Ana’s hand and placing them meticulously on the counter. Ana stood, cheeks reddening and turning her head, pretending to look in an overhead cupboard.  
“S-something like that,” she mumbled. She pulled out a brown box, setting it on the counter with care. Opening the lid, there was a perfectly round cake, decorated with plump currants . Ana took the knife from her belt and cut two slices, one very thick and one very thin. She placed the slices on a plate each, moving to get the saucepan hanging above her head.  
“Mind boiling the water for me?” Ana asked, regaining her confidence as Angela moved to take her spot, getting on with her assigned task. Ana moved to a drawer, taking out something from a string around her neck. Angela briefly glanced at it, but her curiosity was piqued when she noticed something gold glint in the light against the dull metal of the keys. Ana took off one of them from around her neck and opened the drawer. What was within? Money? Gold? Her will, leaving behind every jewel she had ever pillaged?

No. Instead, there were various little parcels wrapped in delicate paper packaging, various spices and exotic-looking herbs in pouches. One of them was a solid square in royal purple cellophane. “Chocolate,” Ana said, more to herself than to Angela, and then to her, “worth its weight in gold, you know. Got it from a British man somewhere whilst on a trade route. Said he was an entrepreneur of some sort. Tastes gorgeous.” Instead of taking it out though, she took a small pouch that was buried underneath it all. She opened it, holding it to her nose and inhaling, unable to stop a grin from growing.

“What’s that?” Angela asked. Ana didn’t reply. Instead, she held the tea to her nose. Angela inhaled precariously, and her entire body shivered. A strong scent of mint hit her like a brick, with notes of rosemary and an undertone of juniper berry enticing her to ask more. “Tea?”  
Ana simply nodded, sprinkling a healthy amount into the water and letting it simmer. “Egyptian mint tea. More sentimental value than financial, I suppose,” she smiled, and then added quieter, “I’m happy I get to share this experience with you. It’s not everyday I get to enjoy this.” Angela found that she was smiling back, her heart fluttering in her ribcage.  
“I would like nothing more than to share them with you,” she said, her voice still the epitome of politeness, but it still made Ana grin dopily.  
“Okay,” she said, a little stupidly, before adding, “tea’s done.”

Ana turned off the heat and placed the tea back in the drawer, locking it securely. Angela knelt to procure two teacups from the cupboard, closing it with her hip and placing them down. Ana poured the tea from the saucepan into the two cups slowly, the other woman watching with mild interest as the liquid that came out was now a light brown colour. The leaves settled comfortably at the bottom, and Ana handed Angela her cup, carrying her own in her left hand whilst balancing the cakes in the other.  
In silence, they headed back onto the deck and out into the salty sea air, putting the plates and cups onto the table. Ana sat opposite Angela and gave her the plate with the bigger slice. She brushed herself off and laid back in her chair, a smile befitting her face as she tried to hide it behind a sip of tea.

Angela took a piece of her slice, nibbling it curiously. It tasted...homemade, not manufactured and tampered with, but with a mother’s care and precision. She took a bigger bite of her cake, and her growling stomach ceased its cry. Ana watched behind her teacup as Angela ate much quicker than usual, stopping occasionally to wipe her mouth or sip her tea. “Is it good?” the captain asked, and Angela looked up from her too-early-to-be-called-breakfast. She nodded meekly, pressing the rim of her cup to her lips and drinking slowly, careful not to burn herself. Ana didn’t touch her cake; instead she relished her mint tea, looking around as if she were waiting for something.  
“Are you expecting someone?” the princess asked, and Ana’s head snapped back into place.

“Uh, well, yes. I mean no. Well yes, but not now. Later. They’re coming later,” Ana said quickly, the jumble of words tangling within each other. Angela chuckled, and the tips of Ana’s ears burned as she laughed along with her nervously.  
“You can be very endearing sometimes, you know,” the princess said behind a sip of tea. She put the teacup down and put her elbow on the table, watching Ana fiddle with the hem of her shirt. She smiled. This was unlike any smile Angela had seen on her though. This was reminiscent of a smile a friend would give. Were they friends? The princess hoped so.

Ana nudged her plate towards Angela, the blonde looking up in surprise. “You need to eat,” the pirate said gently, nudging it even more, “you’re so thin, eazizati. I sometimes worry that life aboard a ship is too rough for you.”  
Angela took a bite of Ana’s slice. “I’m still not used to all the swaying,” she grinned cutely. Ana laughed, and rested her chin in her hand propped up on the table.  
“At least you weren’t ill like Caledonia was when she first came aboard. Couldn’t stop being sick everywhere.”  
Angela’s eyes lit up, and a mischievous smile curled her lips. “Oh, do tell!”

Ana couldn’t help but let her mouth upturn in the corners. “Before I ever had this ship, I used to work with Jack and Gabriel, two old friends of mine. We were escorting some slightly illegal goods we were given on a five-month journey from Indonesia to Texas. When we arrived, Ashe’s former gang tried to stop and search our ship. Perhaps to loot it, thinking we were unsuspecting travellers. Probably wanted an easy score.” She paused to take a sip of her tea, and Angela was practically on the edge of her seat.

“Gabriel had told them that, no, he wasn’t going to let them search his ship without some form of identification to prove they weren’t up to mischief. Of course, they weren’t able to prove anything, but two of the kids got real cocky and thought it’d be funny to try and climb up the gangplank instead. You can guess what happened after wasn’t pretty.”  
“He shot them?” Angela asked, barely able to contain the eagerness in her voice.  
“No! No, no we didn’t shoot them!” Ana said quickly. “Most of her gang got a little worried that he was actually going to shoot them and they scampered off. However, Gabriel had grabbed one of the boys by the collar and heaved him aboard the ship. His name was Jesse. Real troublemaker, that kid, but he liked me a lot. Wouldn’t stop following me around and heeding my every word.

“Ashe had ran off, and of course, being the young and spry woman I was, leaped off the boat to catch her. One thing I could say for certain is that she has a lot of potential; I could see it in her behind that cocky facade. I eventually snagged her from her collar and she stopped, knowing she couldn’t escape. Dragged her back to the ship, and Jack had a very stern talking-to with them. Didn’t help much, but then I tried, and it seemed it was more effective. In fact, they actually started listening to me. We kept them there for a couple of hours, making them clean-”  
“Free labour, no?” Angela smiled, and Ana barked out a laugh.

“I suppose you could say so! But it came as a surprise to us all that Jesse didn’t actually want to leave, and I suppose Ashe couldn’t leave her friend behind, so she stayed as well. When Jack and Gabriel and I decided to go our separate ways, Jesse stayed with them and Ashe asked me if she could travel with me. I honestly was thinking of leaving her there, but then I thought of all the trouble she’d get into if she was back in a gang, and I was suddenly overcome with a motherly instinct, you know? I wanted her to make something of her life, not to rot away in jail. So I let her stay.”  
Angela nodded as Ana finished the last of her tea. “I suppose you never thought she’d become your first mate, did you? After she did try to loot your former ship and make a run for it.” she asked, her voice tinged with laughter. Ana sniggered into her cup, putting it down quickly and covering her mouth. It took her a moment to compose herself before she let out a steady sigh, calming her caffeinated nerves.  
“You have a point. I wasn’t actually going to make her my first mate, but she proved to be a good person at heart, which surprised even me. As soon as I brought Hana back, she gave her a bath and one of her clean shirts. She’s not just a cocky American, contrary to popular belief.”

Just then, there was a clanging sound below them, like the sound of a wooden spoon being hit against a saucepan. Several angry shouts were heard, then the sound of a saucepan being hit against someone’s head. “They’re waking up,” Ana explained a little too calmly as vulgar profanities were screamed, and then the sound of several footsteps coming up the stairs. Hana burst in, skipping over to the table without a care in the world and plonking herself onto Ana’s lap. Ana absentmindedly stroked her hair as Lena and Amelie came up the stairs arm in arm, Zarya carrying a tired-looking Olivia, and a screaming Ashe being pushed up the stairs by a rather angry looking Moira.

“I could hear you from here. What happened?” Ana asked Ashe, who slammed the saucepan onto the table. Before the American could speak, Moira cut in sharply.  
“This idiot here, your first mate, tried to wake me up by hitting a saucepan as loudly as humanly possible right into my ears. After I woke up, she continued to do so, even after I told her to stop multiple times.”  
“Then the bitch hit me with it!” exclaimed Ashe, and Moira smugly took her a seat. “Didn’t even wake up at first; don’t know why she’s complainin’,” she added, grumbling under her breath and rubbing the sore spot on her head.  
“You must be stupid if you thought I was still asleep! You practically woke the whole ship,” Moira retorted, and Ana shushed both of them, rubbing her temples and shutting her eyes.  
“Girls, girls, there’s no need to argue. You all just woke up and immediately you’re creating a racket? You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. We aren’t the only ship in this harbour, you know,” the captain said firmly, and the two quietened, though Moira still had a sour frown on her face. Ana decided not to comment any further. It’d only coax Moira to complain even further. “Zarya, be a darling and make some breakfast for everyone, will you? Not for me though; I’m not hungry. Angela, would you like something?”

Angela shook her head, and Zarya saluted, heading off to the kitchen, Olivia in tow. “Mornin’ cap,” Lena said, as cheerful as ever as she took a seat, “what’s the schedule for today?”  
“Making some repairs to the ship, so don’t expect anything fun,” Ana said, Hana burying her face in her shirt, and groaning. They all simultaneously groaned in protest, and Angela let out a small giggle.  
“Jack and Gabriel are coming over,” the captain added with a smile, and they all immediately cheered.  
“It seems to me, captain, that they like Jack and Gabriel more than they like you,” Angela said, a cheeky smile curling her lips. Ana raised her brows, pretending to be offended.  
“They only like them because they bring food. I have different methods than they do. I’m harsh, but I am fair to my crew. They’re allowed to have days off when we’ve arrived, providing they don’t do anything illegal or bring strangers onto the ship. Other than that, their personal life is their business.”

Hana looked up from Ana’s shirt. “Are we doing my reading today?” Ana looked over to Moira, who responded with a shrug.  
“You should be asking Moira, habibti, not me. But yes, we will probably eat, get on with repairs, give you a bath, and then she’ll do your reading with you. In the meantime, she can read something to you, right Moira?” The Irishwoman gave a half-nod, and Hana ran off to get a book from Moira’s extensive collection on her bookshelf.  
“Reading?” Angela asked, her interest piqued. Ana smiled.  
“Yeah, it’s a thing we do. Hana’s not had much of an education, and I’d rather she doesn’t grow up like me, so we get Moira to teach her how to read and write, since she’s the smartest here.” The redhead overhead the captain’s words, and felt her cheeks redden, though she hid it behind a cough.  
“You’re very thoughtful,” Angela murmured shyly, and the words made Ana’s heart flutter. The captain smiled back dopily and looked away, her stomach doing backflips.  
“Thank you.”

Lena nudged Amelie and snickered. “The blondie’s got the captain all doe-eyed, Ami, look,” she whispered, and Amelie batted her hand away.  
“We should be happy she’s found someone again. It’s better than her being in one of her sulky moods,” Amelie hissed back, but she watched the two talk to each other, seeing how genuinely excited Ana got whenever Angela spoke.  
“Yeah but...she’s still been kidnapped, hasn’t she? Like, I’m all for the captain being happy an’ all, but she’s married. That’s cheatin’, ain’t it?”  
“So far, I don’t think she’s done anything unfaithful,” Amelie muttered, “but even if she did, it’s not our place to say. And her husband truly is scum, so I wouldn’t blame her for taking refuge in the captain’s kindness.”  
“What’s her hubby done then?” Lena asked, scrunching up her nose at the thought of the man. “Like, I know he’s a bit of a prick, but he can’t be that bad if he’s got a good wife.”  
“I don’t think it’s your place as deckhand to know, Lena,” Amelie said firmly, and Lena decided to leave it at that.

\----

A couple of hours later, after the crew had eaten their particularly heavy fry-up, (“fatty food makes you strong. No puny like little girls.”), there was a knock on the side of the ship. The harbour was especially busy now, fisherman rowing in their early morning catches and selling them by the quay. Ana waved her hand dismissively, and Olivia ran to lower the gangplank. At the end of it, there stood two men, one lean with blond hair and a five o’clock shadow, and another with a less muscular man, tanned skin and a scruffy beard. Ana got up from her seat and headed over, a slight grin on her face.  
“Glad you boys could make it. How have you been, Jack?” The thinner man laughed and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He had changed a lot since Ana last saw him. Less intimidating looking and more of a…weirdly gay himbo.  
“I’ve been fine, thank you. This your girl?” he asked, referring to Poseidon’s Daughter. Ana nodded. “She’s beautiful, ain’t she, Gabe?” Jack said, nudging his boyfriend. Gabriel snapped out of his daydream and blinked.

“What? Uh, yeah, beautiful. Jackie, help me with this,” Gabriel said, gesturing to the stack of crates and a large cart behind him. Jack nodded, and moved to grab one. He doubled over as he struggled to lift it up. Ana watched him writhe for a good few seconds before waving her hand, Zarya walking down the gangplank with big booming steps. She lifted Jack’s crate with no difficulty, and then lifted another one up, a decently sized tiffin box, Jack watching with wide eyes as she took them back onto deck with surprising ease.  
“Holy shit, Ana,” he muttered, then said loudly, “where the hell did you find her?”  
“Russia,” the Egyptian replied, “and she’s apparently the strongest woman in the world. Also very loyal and kind. Can break a man’s jaw on command, but won’t say boo to a goose.” Zarya grinned dopily, picking up another crate and placing it down with the strength of ten men. Gabriel raised his brows, before stepping back to let the Russian woman take care of it, heading up the ship with an arm protectively around Jack. Ashe watched from the table, and suddenly her eyes narrowed.

“You!” she shouted, pointing straight at Gabriel. He looked around, trying to decipher where the sound had come from. He then laid eyes on Ashe, and audibly gasped.  
“You!” he shouted back, his brows furrowed, yet the grin on his face betrayed his anger. “The scoundrel! Why are you here?” Jack managed a polite wave, but Ashe took no notice, instead leaping over the table and pointing her finger directly at his chest, prodding him.  
“I could ask the same for you! What are the likes of you two doing in India of all places?” she questioned, eyeing him up like a police officer would do to a dodgy-looking criminal.  
Gabriel poked her square in the chest. “What my private life is like is none of your business, ruffian!” He then turned to Ana, eyes hurt and betrayed. “You kept her?”  
“I ain’t some kind of dog that you’re sayin’ the captain ‘kept’ me,” Ashe yelled, but Ana waved her off, folding her arms and grinning slightly.  
“She’s really quite endearing once you get to know her,” the Egyptian chuckled, but cleared her throat and squared her shoulders. “But that’s not why you’re here. You can start with replacing the gangplank.”

Gabriel groaned, and Jack laughed, quickly running to wheel the cart up the ramp. In a small tin box on the top there was a monkey wrench, handle worn down with age. Gabriel picked it up, along with a paper bag of nuts and bolts. Jack took the wrench and headed down the steps, lifting the underside of the ramp and locating the hinges. Ana blinked, realised she had been watching for far too long, then clapped her hands loudly.  
“Why are you all standing around and doing nothing? You’ve all got things to be getting on with.” Ana paused, thinking for a moment. “Lena,” she finally said, pointing the the perky Brit. “I’ll need your climbing skills to help get up the mast and untie the sails from the bowspirit. It’s about time the sails had been cleaned. The ropes need replacing too.

“Zarya. You’re to help carry anything Jack and Gabriel might need from the storeroom, and help them repair anything. You’re not too shabby with a hammer and nails. Ashe, you can start cleaning the bedrooms. Moira can help.” At that, they both started to protest, but Ana would not hear any of it.  
“Are you the captains or am I?” she said firmly, and Ashe groaned, burying her head in her hands. “Olivia, Amelie, you both are on sewing duty.” Thinking they had gotten off with easy work, the two shared a smug look, but Ana was two steps ahead. “Then you can start ahead on lunch, or dinner depending on how long we take. Hana, you can...I don’t know, serve refreshments. Oh, and I expect you all to have a bath today. You can fit it into your schedule somewhere.”  
She turned to Angela, a slight smile on her face. “We’re on laundry duty. Shouldn’t be too hard, but then again we’ve got to clean everyone’s clothes plus the sails in a rather small bathtub.”  
Angela blinked. She hadn’t done laundry before, Genji not allowing her to dirty herself with suck ‘menial’ tasks and instead ordering a maid to clean and dry her clothes as quickly as possible. He...he did love her, she supposed; he just had a very funny way of showing it.

The crew dissipated, off to achieve their assigned tasks, and Angela chewed her bottom lip. “We will be doing it by hand?”  
Ana looked back down from watching Lena scurry up the mast like a little monkey. She scratched her head. “Well, yeah, how else did you expect us to do it?” She looked back up again, shielding her eyes from the sun as Lena teetered along the very narrow plank of wood that was the bowspirit. Angela’s stomach dropped.  
“Won’t she fall?” she mumbled, watching as the woman precariously balanced on the edge, untying the sails and letting them flutter gracefully in the wind.  
“Nah,” Ana said confidently, “and even if she did, I could catch her.”  
“Is that fact, or are you just praying she won’t fall?” Angela said steadily, gaining some of Ana’s confidence.  
“Bit of both, really,” the captain chuckled as the sails fell down, draping over most of the deck rather elegantly. Ana gathered the cloth up into a ball, then looked up and watched Lena leap from one bowspirit to another. Ana hissed. “The idiot might fall,” was all she said, before the other sail came tumbling down, Angela standing with her arms outstretched to catch it. She gathered it up in her arms, Ana watching as Lena struggled to untie the rope. At last it fell to the floor, and the captain picked it up, before turning her head. “Zarya,” she called, and the Russian turned around, standing up straight and saluting. “We’re gonna need you to get more rope, and perhaps some wood for the gangplank. There’s a hardware stall down the end of the pier.” She fished in her pocket for a couple of gold coins. “See what you can get,” she said, placing them in her hands. The Russian nodded, leaping over the side of the ship and making her way down the bustling pathway.

Ana nudged Angela, whose eyes had drifted elsewhere and taken to watching the boats sail into the harbour, anchors glimmering in the sun. The blonde turned around suddenly, eyes wide in surprise as she clutched the sails closer to her chest. “You surprised me,” she said, stammering over her words a little as Ana headed downstairs, following her with teetering footsteps.  
“Well, when aboard a ship you’ve always got to be on your toes. Many bandits think they can raid our ship just ‘cause we’re women and think we’re easy to trick.”  
“But that isn’t true,” Angela protested, following Ana to the bathroom, “your crew is skilled. I’m sure even they can see that.”  
“Misogynistic men can’t see past their own ego,” Ana laughed, opening the door for Angela to enter. 

She dumped the cloth on the floor and moved to the tin bathtub in the middle of the room. Dragging it over to the tap in the side of the wall, she turned it on, and instantly hot water came gushing out of the spout. Angela put down the cloth gently and watched the water fill the tub, steam rising and swirling like Japanese Edo-period paintings. Ana waited until the bath was a little over three-quarters full, then moved over to the cabinet above the chipped mirror and opened it. She pulled out a glass bottle of a cloudy purple liquid, and then poured it into the water. The scent of lavender filled the room as Ana reached for the cloth on the floor. She dumped them in with a splash, and sat on her knees by the side of the tub, sleeves rolled up. “Mind passing me that mop?” she asked to Angela, who blinked, then passed the mop to the captain. Ana smiled, then turned it upside down, using the handle to stir the water and the sails, the only sound in the room being the slow sloshing sound of the lavender water. Angela knelt next to the tub and shut her eyes, fingers skimming across the top of the water. The sound of the water reminded her of the stream near her home in Switzerland, and how she’d go skinny-dipping sometimes in the late afternoon, the sun blazing down on her and making her hair sparkle like glitter mixed in with sand. The lavender was reminiscent of her mother’s perfume, and how she and her father would watch Angela play on the tire swing in the garden.

Despite her status in both Switzerland and Japan, Angela was still rather young and still longed for a bit of freedom. In her husband’s home, it was as if she was a prisoner, despite her position in the household. Genji’s wife, naturally the second-in-command, and yet she was belittled and mocked at every turn. She was told it was a woman’s duty to look after her husband, that she must listen to him no matter what, that she was always wrong and he was always right, that she must produce a son for their bloodline to continue.  
And then she thought about Ana. As far as Angela knew, Ana had not mentioned anything about getting married or having children, and she was older than Angela. She also didn’t let her gender get in the way of something she wanted to do. She saw men and women as equal, and treated them as such, though she forbade a man from joining her crew. “For my crew’s safety,” she heard Ana’s voice echo in her head, “I fear that a man may try to take advantage of them.”  
Ana was also very much masculine, the exact opposite of what Angela was grown up to be. Whilst Angela had to be careful of not tearing her stockings or petticoats, the Egyptian seemed to not be afraid to get her hands dirty, more often than not coming back to Poseidon’s Daughter with a new bruise on her leg or a cut on her back. Though, Angela noticed as she watched the captain take out the wet sheets, Ana still hadn’t told her the story of each one of the painful looking scars that littered her arms.

“Had a good daydream?” Ana teased fondly as Angela snapped back to reality, her blush travelling from her face to her chest.  
“I was not daydreaming, I was simply thinking!” Angela protested. Ana draped the sheets over the brass water boiler.  
“Daydreaming,” Ana grinned, and Angela huffed in a poor attempt to pretend to be offended.  
“Daydreaming suggests I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. I was. I was just thinking.”  
“Tell me what you were thinking about then, hayseed,” Ana murmured, fiddling with the knobs on the boiler. Angela opened her mouth, then shut it, then opened it again.  
“My parents. And my husband. But mainly my parents,” she said, and she saw Ana soften. She walked over to the sink, turning on the tap and splashing cold water on her face.  
“Are your parents good people?” she asked. Angela nodded eagerly, sitting a little straighter on her knees.

“They very much are, though I haven’t seen them in a few years. My mutti—mother, I mean, she’s very nice, though very set in her traditional lifestyle. She’s not very open-minded I have to admit, but she’s so sweet as well. My vati is likewise, a little stricter though—believes boys should act like men and girls should stay in their place. But they have been sweet to me, though Genji has forbidden me from visiting them.” She let out a woeful sigh.  
“Yeah, well, he’s stupid,” Ana said, raking a thin comb through her hair. “I can’t imagine going for years without seeing my mother like you’ve done. It’s important to keep in touch with your family. You never know what might happen and when you’ll last see them.” Angela hummed in agreement as she watched Ana pin back her hair, her neck and collarbone visible. She found it hard not to stare.

“Perhaps you are right. How are your parents like? I hope they treat you well,” she asked, and Ana turned around, wiping the water off of her face with a hand towel.  
“Uh, well, my mom’s good. More than good, actually. She’ll listen to your problems, she’ll tell you jokes if you’re upset, she’ll help you with any worries. She’ll take an hour out of her own time to sit you down and brush your hair. She’ll cook for you in the middle of the night. She’ll always accept you, as long as your morals are in line with hers. Just...I’m grateful to have her,” Ana gushed, then watched as Angela’s grin grew twice as big. “I promise I’m usually not that emotional. I’m just missing her.”  
“Alright, alright, if you say so,” Angela laughed. “How’s your father like?”

The happy mood in the room dissipated immediately.

“My…my what?” Ana asked, the happiness in her voice completely gone now. Angela swallowed, but it did not help her dry throat.  
“Your father,” she said again, watching Ana’s posture for signs of discomfort.  
Ana hesitated. When she did speak, it was as though memories that had been scabbed over were being disturbed for the first time in years.  
“Did...Did Genji not tell you? About his father, your father-in-law?” she asked, voice devoid of emotion.  
Angela slowly shook her head.  
“I wouldn’t expect you to know. It was over thirty years ago; you weren’t born yet,” she carried on. Her voice was less devoid of emotion now, and more...thoughtful. Sad, almost. As if she was uncovering memories that had been buried deep, deep down. “But...that is a story for another day.” She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. “Right now, you need to have a bath, and I need to get on with these chores.”  
“You don’t have to hide how you feel,” Angela said with a wavering voice, and her words echoed off the walls.  
“I know,” said the captain, but Angela didn’t seem to believe her. “Sometimes it feels as if I have been hiding my whole life. Hiding from what though? My mother’s illness? My responsibility as an eldest daughter? A life of motherhood? And if it is none of those, then I have no excuse. And if it is a combination of all three, then what kind of person am I?”

“Are you going to do something about it, or are you going to pity yourself?” Angela said suddenly. She stood up, and Ana stood there in surprise at the woman’s outburst. “You are one of the most valiant people I have ever met. You are brave, you are kind, you are loyal, you are friendly. Yet you speak of yourself so lowly! I am sick of hearing you insult yourself! You are not a coward, no matter how hard you try to convince yourself that you are. Your lifestyle may differ from the average female, but it does not make you any less of a person. In fact, through your actions you show commendable bravery and loyalty, and that is something not many people have. There are people who are respected, but they are liars and beggars and cheats. You have more honour than they will ever have, captain.”  
It took Ana a moment to compose herself. “Mrs Ziegler, I...I did not know you felt that strongly about me,” she managed to say. A chuckle escaped her lips, though it was brief. “I have to thank you for that.”  
“You don’t have to thank me for anything,” Angela replied, voice no louder than a murmur. With every word, she took a step closer to Ana, until the latter was leaning onto the sink, her hands holding onto the porcelain behind her. The captain swallowed, feeling Angela’s warm breath on her face.

“Please don’t say those things about yourself though,” she whispered, letting her hands take Ana’s. She squeezed them lightly, and Ana relished in the cold feeling. She nodded, a little dumbly, and Angela then smiled, like an angel from the Sistine Madonna. She leaned forward, and lightly brushed her lips against Ana’s cheek, an act so innocent yet it sent Ana’s heart a-flutter. The captain was still for a moment, the warm feeling captured perfectly on her cheek. Finally, she let out a laugh, and Angela blinked, clearly confused.  
“Am I missing something?” she asked. The Egyptian shook her head.  
“You have this way of making people feel good about themselves,” Ana said whilst gathering Angela’s hands in her own. “Thank you. It is what I needed to hear today.” Angela’s thumbs stroked over the taller woman’s hands. Her smile, so warm and genuine, pierced Ana’s heart.

“I can tell you every day if need be. Now come. I believe you said I had to bathe, no?”

\-----

Genji awoke from his sleep. Two women were in the bed with him, one on each side, completely naked. Slowly, he peeled himself off of the mattress, kicking the blanket off of him. He reached for his sleeping robe that hung off of the bedpost. 100% Chinese silk. It probably cost more than the hotel room he was living in right now. He slipped out of bed and headed to the balcony, the moon letting a steady stream of light into the bedroom.  
He stood, leaning against the railing as he pulled an expensive-looking cigar out of his pocket and lighting it with an expensive-looking lighter. Genji took a puff, and flicked his lighter shut. He watched as the city beneath him teemed with life, horses and carriages still making journeys even at this time of night. All of this would be his, as soon as he made agreements with his father-in-law about preserving Switzerland’s economy once he passed. However, he could not do so without his wife present. If Angela’s father found out about his daughter being kidnapped, then the whole plan would be off, and Genji would be reduced to nothing.

There was a knock at the door, and it startled Genji out of his thoughts. “Come in,” he called, and the door opened to reveal a Japanese man in a sharp suit, hair slicked back and a pointed chin. He reminded Genji of a rat.  
“What do you want?” he spat in Japanese, careful not to attract any unwanted attention. If someone had found out about this conversation, then he would have been shamed forever.  
“It is about your wife, sir,” the man said, and Genji sat down in a plush leather armchair, legs crossed neatly, brows furrowed. He would not look out of place on a Vogue magazine.  
“Go on.”  
The man swallowed, a bead of sweat running down his forehead. “The men you ordered to be stationed in India, they...they have been killed, sir.”

Instead of an outburst like he had expected, Genji just leisurely nodded, resting his chin on his hand. “I figured as much. Do you know who has killed them? That will give us a better chance of pinpointing where Angela is.”  
The fear rose in the man’s throat again as he nervously fiddled with his suit. “Last night, a man and a woman were seen exiting the club together yesterday.”  
“What does this have to do with anything?” Genji snapped, giving way to his fiery temper. The man stammered over his words.  
“We think...we think it may have been Amari.”  
“Amari?” Genji asked in interest. His expression darkened. “It couldn’t have been Amari. Amari’s dead. My father killed him.”

“He had a daughter, sir, named Ana. She continued her father’s legacy after he died,” the man explained, and a lightbulb went off in Genji’s head.  
“Ana Amari. I know her. Did she not hijack one of our ships once?” he mused.  
“She did, sir,” replied the tall man, his saliva becoming harder to swallow. “She is no foe to underestimate.”

“Pah! She is a woman, how hard can it be?”  
“She has been known for her formidable strength, sir, and her determination. It is likely that she will not hold back if we are to attack again.”  
“Do you know where she is right now?” he asked, and his servant nodded.  
“She is heading to Egypt, I believe. She has just left the Chennai harbour, and it is estimated it will take a month for her to reach Alexandria.”  
Genji mulled over his thoughts like warm wine on a winter’s night. “Even if she is as formidable as you stay,” he finally said, sternly, “she is still a woman. We are to wait until she comes to us. Egypt is off limits, for now. How much is she asking for?”  
“Three million pounds,” his servant said quietly, and Genji raised his brows. To him it was merely pocket change but to Ana, he supposed that it was quite a lot. Still, he was not willing to part with any amount of his riches. For one, it would pose a lot of questions about where the money had disappeared to.  
“It would take us two months to head from here to Egypt, and by then it would be too late,” Genji mused, “tell the remaining men in India to head over to Alexandria, but I want the rest of my men to stay put in Italy. I have a plan.”  
“What is your plan, sir?” his servant asked, a hint of excitement in his voice. Genji smirked like a sly fox, stroking his chin and looking off into the distance, watching the moon’s light pulsate harder than ever.

“We’ll make her dance like the insect she is.”


	8. You Got Me Intoxicated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amari confesses to her love, and Genji is planning something.

Angela stepped out of the bath, skin wrinkled like a prune. The water pooled at her feet as she walked over to the towel Ana had hung up for her. She dried herself with the soft towel, dabbing it lightly against her smooth legs, before wringing her hair dry, her shoulder-length blonde hair hanging limply.

Ana had also left some clean clothes for Angela, a white night slip and a gown, as well as some plain white underwear. She slipped into her clothes, feeling much more invigourated and fresh than before, and left the bathroom, heading towards the upper deck.

She opened the door, and saw three people sitting at the table. Moira was nose-deep in a book, Ashe’s hat was covering her face, and Ana laid back in her seat, a cigar between her red lips. Ana glanced over to Angela, putting out her tobacco on the table, and straightening herself up.

“Do the clothes fit?” she asked, and Angela nodded. She made her way to the chair beside the captain and sat down, smoothing her gown out. Ashe looked up from the brim of her hat and saluted, before promptly heading back to sleep.

Ana’s eyes widened, before she leapt up out of her seat, quickly heading to the kitchen. She emerged with a steaming bowl in her hands, and Angela’s stomach whined as she thought about how long she’d actually been bathing.

“You took some time in the bath and missed supper, so I kept your dinner warm for you,” she said quietly as to not disturb Ashe or Moira. She placed the bowl in front of her, and then frowned. “I-I forgot the spoon. And the bread. Excuse me a moment,” she said, but Angela held onto her shirt.

“Ana,” she said calmly, and the captain blinked in surprise. “I can always drink from the bowl you know. I’m not that special.” She motioned for Ana to sit down again, and she did.

“But you’re royalty. I should really start treating you like it, no?” said Ana, and Angela hummed, more interested in the bowl in front of her.

“What is it?” she asked, studying the liquid curiously. It was the colour of fall, of golden leaves gathered up in piles. Sprinkled in were dried chillies, and again this panged a feeling in Angela’s chest.

It was homemade, she could tell, but the love that was put into it made her heart swell up. And that this love was being shared with her, as if she was part of a family again, and not a trophy wife limited to parties and gatherings.

“Butternut squash with chilli and creme fraiche,” Ana murmured, getting up to move to the wheel. Angela dipped her pinky in and licked it curiously. The spice was enough to itch the back of her throat, and the butternut squash warmed her stomach pleasantly.

“It’s good,” she called. Ana grinned.

“It’s just something I rustled up. It’s gonna be full days of sailing from here on out, so don’t expect many warm meals,” the captain laughed, and Angela’s lips curled up into a smile.

“Are there any good places to eat in Egypt?” Angela said, and what Ana’s first thought was was definitely not a restaurant. She thought for a moment, and the ship swayed to the right as she turned the wheel.

“There’s lots of good places. A Greek guy I know sells good gyros. There’s also Askari’s Place, but it gets very rowdy very quickly, and I don’t like sitting with creepy drunkards.”  
“You’re forgetting Nilah’s Diner,” Ashe pointed out, voice groggy, “God, that guy’s kofta is amazing.” Ana nodded as Angela held the steaming bowl to her lips, before drinking slowly.

The hot liquid rolled down her throat, the spicy chilli mingling with her taste buds and the buttery squash enveloped her in a wave of warmth. She let out a soft ‘mmm’, and Ana couldn’t help but grin.

“Good, huh?” she laughed. “That’s my mama’s recipe. I used to have a lot more, but they all got lost somewhere.”

Angela hummed, then the four of them settled into comfortable silence: Angela drinking her soup, Moira finding refuge in a book, Ashe trying to nap unsuccessfully, and Ana leaning against the mast and looking out into the distance, moving occasionally to steer the ship back on track.

Eventually, Moira and Ashe shuffled to bed, leaving only Angela and Ana behind. Angela had taken to tracing the rim of the bowl with her finger.

“I’m on lookout tonight,” Ana said, voice no louder than a murmur, “so you best be getting some sleep. It’s not healthy to stay up all night.”

“But you’re staying up all night,” protested Angela, “so you can’t really preach about health.” Ana looked surprised that she’d spoken up, and then she laughed.

“I guess what I’m saying is that I’m more used to it. I can’t force you to sleep, but I understand if you’d feel safer downstairs. Sometimes for a newcomer, you can feel more than a little ill.”

“I just like watching the sea,” Angela said quietly, and Ana bent her head down to listen. “It’s calm and quiet. Sometimes that’s what you need after a long day.” She turned to Ana, who watched her with interest, a smile playing at the captain’s lips. “What’s funny?”

“Nothing,” she grinned, and turned back to the ship. She fixed a lock of rebellious hair. “Can’t stand the silence. Makes me think of the past and all that. We’re like opposites, you an’ me. Water and whiskey. Sugar and salt.”

“Are you suggesting that I’m...salty?” Angela said, the last word dripping in appall. Ana barked out a laugh then, slapping her knee and throwing her head back. Angela watched as the captain regained her composure, fanning herself with her hand.

“That’s rich, that is. I’m not calling you salty; just saying we’re two halves of the same whole. Different sides of a coin, if you must.”

Angela was a little skeptical. “How so?” she questioned, a tad warily. Ana pondered for a moment. It wasn’t that she didn’t know what to say. It was that she just didn’t know how to say it.

“We’ve lost parents of some sort,” she managed to say, putting thought into each word, “My father’s gone, and you haven’t seen your parents in years, so we both deal with the struggle of carrying our emotions on our shoulders. We gotta make our own life, you see, ‘cause no one else will be doing it for us. You might be privileged with money and a husband, but the world gets real ugly if you’re an outspoken woman like you or me.”

Angela didn’t say anything, but she ducked her head down, nibbling her bottom lip anxiously. “Am I outspoken?” she mumbled, then glanced over to Ana. “Is that bad?”

“Course not,” Ana was quick to say, moving over to sit across from Angela, hands on the table. “I think it’s an admirable trait in a woman. She can stick up for herself. You have a voice, meaning you have an opinion. I much prefer mild-mannered ladies to quaint ones. Course, it doesn’t come without a few risks.”

Her hands moved to her shirt and she lifted it up a little. Along her ribs was a scarred piece of skin that had long since healed over, but the jagged shape caused Angela to wince.

“How did you get that?” she asked, and Ana put her shirt back down, leaning forward in her seat. If Angela didn’t know her better, she’d say Ana looked somewhat proud.

“Punched some bastard. He called me a word I won’t repeat and I swung at him. Cheffed me up good and proper. Took Amelie a few hours to stitch it shut, but never mind that. What it taught me was that a wound is definitely worth voicing your opinion, and that I should always carry a knife to avoid getting a gut rearrangement again.”

From her belt she procured a thickly-hilted knife. The blade started curved, but ended in a straight point, with a serrated bottom edge. The handle had initials carved into the butt of the knife.

H.A. Angela wondered who that was.

Ana spun the knife between her fingers, blade glinting in the dim light, before she slid it back into its holster. “Then again, my mother told me I shouldn’t get into scraps. She was worried I’d end up ruining my life as well as my face.”

Angela opened her mouth to speak. “Well, I think your face is perfectly fine,” she said, matter-of-factly. Ana laughed at her tone of voice.

“You say it like it’s true,” said the captain as she got up and headed over to the mast. Angela watched as she untied the rope attached to the bowspirit. She yanked on it hard, and the sails flared wildly, the ship lurching forward faster than before. Ana sat back down, this time next to her.

“I think your face is perfectly fine too,” she said. The princess raised those perfectly arched brows of hers, folding her arms expectantly.

“I know that,” Angela said, a hint of a smirk on her face, “you think I don’t know I’m beautiful?”

“I just like a woman who knows her worth,” Ana challenged, “and you sure are worth more than just me saying it to you. I hope you know that.” There was a pause where Ana’s eyes flitted away, pink tinging her cheeks as she rubbed her face awkwardly. “Uh, that’s not just me putting you on a pedestal. You’re a nice girl. Smart. Smart girls are nice.”

Angela shuffled forward. “Just nice?” she asked, and those beady blue eyes glimmered like sapphires, melting Ana’s heart.

“More than nice,” she managed to reply, moving closer so that their knees touched. Her hands moved to find Angela’s, whose hands seeked Ana’s warmth immediately.

Calloused, smooth. Warm, cold. Rough, tender. Opposites.

Angela’s lips parted slightly, her tongue wetting her lips as Ana’s hands moved to her sides, and sat comfortably on her hips. She blinked, those perfect amber eyes filled with something Angela couldn’t quite put her finger on. Angela moved her hands to the sides of Ana’s face, and she tilted her head slightly, as if trying to examine her.

“What is it, something on my face?” Ana asked amusedly, Angela studying her face with a furrowed brow. The princess moved Ana’s face forward, so much so that her hot breath could be felt against her skin.

“You just seem different today,” she mused. “Like you’ve had a change of pace.” Ana thought for a minute, her fingers dancing along the sides of Angela’s body.  
“Change of pace? You think so?” Ana asked, and Angela nodded as if it was obvious.

“I...I like it. Your emotions are rawer. How did it happen?” she asked, bemused. The captain chuckled, and she pulled Angela impossibly closer.

“Perhaps it was just my thoughts clearing my mind and telling me what I want,” said Ana, and Angela’s thumbs stroked the Egyptian’s cheeks.

“And what did you want?” Angela said, realising she was already breathless.

Ana leaned in close, blinking those impossibly golden eyes and fluttering those eyelashes in a way that made Angela’s heart thump faster. She wet her lips, those red lips that Angela had fantasised about being somewhere else, and moved in, her voice husky with lust.

“I want you,” she murmured, her lips next to the shell of Angela’s ear, and her voice sent vibrations down her spine and all the way to her centre, pulsating in a way she had never felt before. “Do you want me too?”

Angela let out a soft whimper, and Ana’s hands travelled up to the blonde’s back, helping her not melt into a puddle. “Is that a yes or a no?” Ana grinned, Angela moving her arms around Ana’s shoulders to secure her from fainting from pure desire.

Angela nodded, haze-covered eyes rolling into the back of her head as Ana’s lips made a pathway from her collarbone to the lobe of her ear. Red lipstick stains carved a path on her neck, particularly fixed on a point under Angela’s jaw.

The virgin’s skin was indeed sweet, and Ana couldn’t help but move over to the other side of her neck, hungry, but not feral, for her touch, her feel, her scent.

Her.

The sound of kisses and brushes of skin filled the midnight air. Angela’s fingers dug deep into Ana’s arm as the captain nibbled on her earlobe. She pulled away, looking at Angela sheepishly. “Too much?” she asked, and Angela shook her head immediately.

“N-not enough, I’d say,” Angela mumbled, and Ana let out an uncharacteristic giggle. It made Angela’s heart flutter, and she began laughing along with her.

“You are too cute,” Ana found herself mumbling against her forehead as she pressed a kiss to it. Angela sat up, her hands finding the captain’s, and threading their fingers together. Ana moved Angela’s wrist to her lips and kissed gently, slowly, as if savouring the taste of her skin.

There was a few minutes of silence as Angela crawled into Ana’s lap and straddled her in the most innocent pose that Ana could swear she could see a halo around the golden waves of hair.

They sat in silence for a while, Angela’s head to Ana’s chest, ringed fingers stroking through the princess’s golden bangs. Finally, the Egyptian broke the silence.

“You...you mean a lot to me, and yet we’ve only known each other for just over a month,” Ana said quietly, pushing down the lump in her throat, and Angela lifted her head up curiously, blinking those angel eyes that rivalled that of Van Gogh’s bright blue sky. She tilted her head like a curious puppy and Ana planted a kiss upon her round button nose.

“It’s...it’s silly I know, but it feels as if my heart rejects any love but yours,” she continued, and shut her eyes, eyelashes shining with tears. “And I know you have a husband, and I’d be ruining things by trying to chase after you, so you can shut me down now so I don’t get my hopes up--” She opened her eyes welled with tears, and Angela’s heart dropped down into a pit in her stomach. Had she caused this?

Ana covered her face with her hands and inhaled sharply, ducking her head low so her bangs covered her face. She didn’t say anything for a minute, just tried as desperately as she could to push down her feelings.

So she was surprised when Angela gathered her face in her hands and kissed her eyelids gently, like how the wings of a butterfly brush against each other when they flutter off into the summer breeze.

Ana sat in stunned silence, lips parted as if she was about to ask what had happened, but Angela wiped away the tears with her sleeve and wordlessly pressed another kiss to the centre of her forehead. Ana blinked, and her posture relaxed, hands finding Angela’s hips and resting upon them. Angela leaned forward, her rosebud lips curled up into a smile.

“I would never break your heart like that,” Angela murmured, similar to how Ana did when they had their passionate tryst earlier. “Especially after how you treat me like I’m...like I’m worth being treated like that.”

“But you are,” Ana quickly said, and Angela put a slender finger to her lips, silencing her instantly.

“I never truly believed that until now,” she replied, and their eyes shared a gaze of desire, of shared feelings, like a moonage daydream, “not until you treated me like I was a diamond. You spoke so softly to me, so sweetly. You made sure I was comfortable, despite our circumstances. You treated me like I was a person. Like I was my own person. That is already more than my husband did for me.”

Ana’s hands moved to Angela’s face, and she made a sound that sounded as if she was choking. Covering her mouth, she squeezed her eyes shut and let out little snorts of laughter. Angela was about to ask if she had forgotten to breathe, but Ana pulled in Angela’s face close and kissed each cheek passionately. She leaned back in her seat and sighed, a pleasant smile playing at her lips.

“Of course I treat you like a person,” Ana finally said, wrapping her arms around the woman’s waist, “that’s what you deserve. It’s a basic human right, isn’t it? I thought a rich guy like him would understand that, since he ain’t backward like me.”

“You aren’t a backward person,” Angela frowned, “even though he might think so. You treat me so well and I feel awful for having to decide between you or him.”

“Well he’s your husband. I think there’s a clear winner here, don’t you?” the captain said mellowly, voice free from previous sadness.

Angela shook her head, and leaned forward, chin rested comfortably in the crook of the captain’s neck.

“It’s you,” she murmured in Ana’s ear, and the pirate nearly jumped.

She turned her head to face the blonde, who was currently kissing the base of her neck. “Sorry, what?” Ana said, and Angela smiled, pulling away from her tanned collarbone and upturning the corners of her lips like a little schoolgirl.

“I said it’s you,” she said again, this time louder, and Ana blinked, as if trying to dissolve away a daydream. She tilted her head.

“Come again?”

“You, captain,” Angela said, voice hushed just above a whisper, and her hand moved up to stroke Ana’s cheek. The captain’s eyes widened to the size of saucers and she sat up, holding Angela’s hand against her cheek.

“Me?” she asked as if she had misheard, and Angela giggled under her breath.

“I think you know what I said,” the blonde murmured, pressing her forehead to the Egyptian’s, the tips of their noses brushing, and Ana suddenly broke out into a smile.

“Me?” she said again, but this time she sounded pleased. “You--you’re really picking me over a tall, dark and handsome stranger that you should be picking because he’s your husband. This isn’t a joke, is it?”

Angela tutted, her fingertip outlining the shape of Ana’s lips and tracing down her cupid’s bow, all the way to her chin. “You know I wouldn’t joke about something like this. I don’t even joke.”

“I gotta find a way to loosen you up then, don’t I?” Ana grinned, and her eyes sparkled in adoration as Angela’s fingers tickled along her cheekbones.

A soft kiss was pressed to the captain’s forehead, and the two fell back into mellow silence, Angela resting her crown of blonde locks upon Ana’s chest. Ana didn’t say anything, but she wrapped an arm around the lithe figure on her and stroked her hair with her free hand, mumbling occasionally in Arabic that made Angela’s toes curl and made her deepest parts flutter.

“Sleep with me tonight,” Angela suddenly said, and Ana choked.

“S-surely it’s too early for that!” Ana protested, the red on her cheeks becoming more prominent than ever. “I just confessed my love to you; I think it’s too early for physical relations.” She scratched the back of her neck. With any other women, intimacy would have been expected by now. But Angela was special, and she wanted to take her time. Especially since the young blonde had no prior experience with such a thing.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Angela giggled, laughs escaping her rosebud lips, “I just want you close to me tonight. You can do that, no?”

Ana frowned. “I...I don’t know. I don’t trust myself, especially not with a beautiful woman that close to me.”

“I know you would not take advantage of me,” Angela pouted, “so please? I promise we won’t go any further than simply sleeping in the same bed.”

Ana was about to protest again but Angela’s bottom lip quivered and the Egyptian felt her knees go weak.

“You’ve won me over,” Ana finally gave in, and Angela kissed both of her cheeks, laughter rippling from the blonde’s mouth as Ana picked her up akin to how a groom picks up his wife, and headed towards her bedroom.

By the time Ana got to her room, Angela had been writhing in her arms like a pouty child. She sat her down in the bed as she started to unbutton her shirt, Angela’s eyes fixated on the curve of her breasts. Ana hesitated for a moment due to those gorgeous blue prying eyes.

Angela threw up her hands in defense. “Hey, we’re both women, aren’t we?” She had the smuggest grin on her face.

Ana gave her a skeptical look before turning herself away so that her back was facing the princess. She could practically hear Angela pout from behind her.

The captain rolled her eyes, but was thankful her blushing face was obscured from view. Should the blonde see her so bashful, she just knew she might press her for further contact. Not unwanted, by all accounts, but the first time was special and Ana wanted ample warning and the right mood. Not now when both were exhausted.

Reaching to grab a comfortable garb from her closet, she slid her arms into the sleeves of a striped pajama shirt. She modestly buttoned herself up all the way to the collar before turning herself back around.

Angela was staring at her with doe eyes. She was already appropriately dressed in a long nightgown.

“Aren’t you going to get comfortable under the sheets?” Ana asked. She shivered as Angela gave over a once-over with those dilated pupils.

“I’m waiting for you to join me,” she finally responded, not looking at the captain directly in the eyes but instead examining her below the waist. “Aren’t you going to change your trousers, too?”

Ana could feel her blush spread to her neck and ears. How was it that such a dainty maiden such as Angela could make her, a hardened captain of the seas, feel so weak? She fumbled for a moment to find her quivering voice. “Y-Yes, want to reach into the bedside drawer and hand me a pair for sleeping? The bottom drawer,” she added.

Angela was having far too much fun with her. The blonde hummed. “Ah, why would you need to put on any trousers for sleeping, though? After all, I’m not wearing any,” she giggled.

“Because I’m not wearing a nightgown like you are!” the captain retorted.

“Oh? Well I could take off this gown,” Angela offered.

“Angela…” the captain shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “We agreed not to tonight,” she mumbled.

“I know, I’m just playing with you,” the princess admitted. “I’m sorry. Forgive me?”

“Maybe I’ll forgive you if you give me those trousers and turn away, please,” Ana said quietly.

Angela handed her the matching striped trousers and turned herself to face the headboard while Ana shifted out of her current pair and into the pajamas. When the drawstring was tied, she climbed onto the bed.

“Are you decent for my eyes now?” Angela mirthed.

Ana rolled her eyes and situated herself under the covers. “Yes, I am. You can get yourself all comfortable now.”

The princess joined her underneath the sheets. Her legs brushed against Ana’s. “Dear, please cuddle into me?”

How could Ana resist such a request? She let her arms wrap around the petite beauty, feeling the girl snuggle her back against the captain’s front. Feeling the girl’s warmth and movements in her arms was heavier than it had any right to be, and Ana cursed herself for her intrusive less-than-innocent thoughts.

“Are you asleep?” Angela whispered after a few minutes of silence.

Ana paused. “No, not yet,” she whispered back.

“Tell me when you do.”

“I’d be asleep, how could I tell you?” Ana smiled, and Angela giggled, moving back to press her back against Ana’s chest.

“You give a good point,” Angela mumbled, and Ana’s hands resisted the urge to move from her hips and explore the rest of her body.

Thankfully, it had been a long day, so with Angela next to her it didn’t take long for the princess’ light breathing to lull her into sleep. She vaguely remembered Angela murmuring a sweet “goodnight” to her, before everything faded into soft light.

\----

_Dear Father,_

_I hope this letter finds you in good health. I have arrived in Italy and have just now set up in Siracusa. The hotel is shabby, but the women here are nice enough._

_But that is not the topic for today._

_The Amari family is a thorn in our side yet again. Angela is missing, and the Shimada state is on full lockdown. Not a single soldier is allowed in and not a single soldier is allowed out. But to say she was missing is an understatement. She was kidnapped, by none other than the daughter of Hamza Amari. Her name is Ana Amari, and she would be a beautiful woman if she did not have such loud opinions and a brash personality._

_I must find Angela before word gets out that she’s gone. If her father finds out, I dread to think what will happen. Our deal will be struck off, and we will not only lose a valuable partner in trading, but perhaps in the Yakuza business as well. Switzerland is rife in natural resources and is rapidly growing in the jewelry industry. If we cannot take control of that, then we cannot control the rest of Europe._

_She demands three million yen in about three months time. She will be meeting me here to collect the money and drop off Angela, but I am more interested in what she will be doing with the money. What does a pirate need three million yen for, besides ship upgrades and maybe a couple of nights with some prostitutes?_

_Three million is nothing, of course, but I will not be paying her anyway. She could be seducing my wife this very moment, and she expects payment in full as soon as we meet._

_I know her father is no more, but what about the rest of her family? She surely has a mother, and I’ve heard she has a younger sister as well. She is a slippery woman and hasn’t mentioned any family back home when my soldiers were dispatched to follow her, which is why I do not understand why Egypt is off limits._

_This is why I have made the executive decision to send a few of my best men to the Red Sea. Not enough to raise alarms, but enough to see where she’s going. I will order them to attack her ship on sight. I can’t risk her getting away with something like this._

_I will send a copy of this letter to Hanzo as well. He is currently away in Russia doing some business, but we will need all the help we can get if he decides to join us._

_After all, it will take Amari a good full week to sail around Saudi Arabia and another week to arrive in Alexandria if my sailors are correct. That means she will approximately spend a month in Egypt if she wants to be on time._

_I hope you understand and support my decision. You may not think it the wisest, but I can assure you I have thought about this for several days now and I believe it to be the best course of action._

_Lord knows Ana Amari thinks she has gotten away with this._

_Sincerely,_  
_Genji_

\----

The feeling of a pair of lips brushing against her eyelids was enough to stir Ana out of her beauty sleep. She pried open her amber eyes and was pleasantly surprised to find the angelic face of her newfound lover.

“Good morning dear,” Angela smiled, pecking the captain’s cheek gently as Ana tossed and turned for a bit, moving to lay on her back to ease the numbness in her left arm after Angela had slept on it.

“Mornin’,” the Egyptian mumbled whilst rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes. She yawned cutely, then tried to wriggle back under the covers but Angela gave her a stern yet kind look and she sat up sheepishly. “What time is it?”

Angela rearranged the apron around her hips. “Well, since we went to bed so late last night,” she said with an air of smugness, “it’s around nine in the morning, and everyone else is pretty much awake, so yes I guess you could say you’re late.”

“Shit,” Ana cursed. She rubbed her eyes again, then properly took note of the woman before her. “You smell nice. What have you been doing?” she asked, head cocked in interest. Angela hummed pleasantly, a cute smile turning up the corners of her mouth as she brushed her lap clean.

“I made rice omelettes for everyone,” Angela said. Ana felt her stomach growl, and she clutched it awkwardly.

“What, really?” she asked, but more in confirmation than disbelivance. “Rice omelettes? For breakfast?” Angela pressed a little kiss to Ana’s temple.

“I know, I spoil you,” the blonde giggled, holding out her hand for Ana to take as she helped her up, “but you must freshen yourself up before you come to the breakfast table. I won’t have you looking so scruffy.”

Ana laughed. “Since when did you become housewife material?”

She gestured for Angela to turn around as she started to strip, the sound of clothes hitting the floor. Angela playfully covered her eyes whilst Ana awkwardly shuffled to the closet. She picked out a frillier shirt than usual, with a collar so sharp that Angela could have cut her finger on it. It went particularly well with a clean pair of pressed black pants and, of course, the captain’s signature red jacket.

“You can turn around now,” Ana said once she had almost finished, and Angela spun on her heels and watched as the captain flopped back down onto the bed, putting her thickly-heeled boots on. Angela hummed, brushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear and smiling.

“You go and freshen up, and I’ll put your food on the table,” she said, Ana nodding absent-mindedly whilst raking her fingers through her long black tresses. Angela left, leaving Ana to cover her face and hide her blushing cheeks.

So it wasn’t a dream. Everything that happened yesterday was real.

She was so afraid of Angela waking up in the morning and suddenly changing her mind. That Angela would regret ever opening up to the captain in the first place. That she’d regret even letting Ana kiss her.

Lord knows that had happened to Ana too many times.

And that was why she was very pleased that Angela had woken up feeling the same as yesterday, and that Ana had woken up with an even brighter love for the princess. She wouldn’t know what to do if she wasn’t in love with her anymore.

The captain eventually got up, the brightest smile on her face as she headed towards the bathroom with the intention of perhaps splashing her face in water and squealing to herself. Opening her door to leave, she saw Hana standing outside her room, arms folded and eyes narrowed.

“Good morning Hana,” Ana smiled, pecking her on the cheek, but the eleven-year-old did not look pleased. Her face looked as if she had been betrayed.

“So,” she said, her voice carrying a bitterness that shouldn’t have been possible for a child her age, “when were you going to tell me?”  
Ana blinked. “Tell you what?”

Hana seemed even more offended. “Don’t act like I’m just a kid, captain,” she said quietly. “I notice things. And I noticed you and the blondie are very close.”  
“Her name is Angela,” Ana said, walking past Hana to enter the bathroom, “and we’re friends.”  
“More than that,” Hana scoffed, following the captain inside.

Ana turned on the tap, cupping her hands under the lukewarm water and splashing it onto her face. Hana watched, unimpressed, before Ana finally answered, “what do you mean?” with a mischievous glint in her eye.

“Don’t think I didn’t see Angela leaving your room this morning!” the Korean girl yelled when Ana chuckled at her. “She woke up early to make us breakfast! And it wasn’t even just porridge, it was a rice omelette!”

“So,” Ana said, voice tinged with humour, “you think I’ve been canoodling with Angela because she made you an omelette? Like, I bribed her to do that?” She laughed vibrantly. “That’s rich. You think I’m in cahoots with a married woman? Ha! I wouldn’t go so far-”

“Also I saw your lipstick on her neck.”

There was a steady silence. Ana dried her face with her sleeve while Hana grinned triumphantly. “You’ve been sleepin’ with her,” she smirked, and the captain gasped.

“Firstly, no, I haven’t!” Ana said defensively, “and secondly, where have you been hearing that kind of language, young lady?”

“Give me some answers first, and then we’ll talk!” Hana said defiantly, grinning like the sly cat she was. Ana groaned, then sighed.

“Fine,” she frowned, and the girl giggled. “I confessed to her last night. That I liked her more than I should’ve, even though she has a husband.” She watched as Hana’s hopeful eyes widened even further. “You’re getting a kick out of this, aren’t you?”

“No no,” Hana lied, a smug cat grin emerging, “carry on. It’s interesting.” Ana couldn’t help but chuckle as she continued.

“I thought she’d shoot me down. At least that’s what I wanted her to do, so I could stop thinking about her and get on with my duties.” Ana paused then, a thoughtful look on her face. “But...but she didn’t reject me.”

Hana gasped audibly and covered her mouth.

“She said she likes me,” Ana said, and happiness seeped back into her voice, “and that she’s willing to try this out. To let me love her.” She grinned then. “Hana, she’s amazing. She can cook, she’s smart, she’s kind, she’s sweet. She’s a good kisser.”

“Eww, gross,” Hana gagged, making Ana frown offendedly , “way too much information! But...it’s still cute how you like her, captain. I support it. Also she’s mom material.”

“Am I not already mom material?” Ana joked, and Hana stuck her tongue out. “My silly girl,” the captain teased. She held out her hand for Hana to take.

“Come on. Let’s get back on deck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shall I add Hanzo to this story? I know already that I will be adding Jesse.
> 
> I thirst for comments, so keep em coming.


End file.
